GIFT  OF 
Mrs   I lams 


.  ODR  GREAT  CAPTAINS; 


GRANT,    SHERMAN, 


THOMAS,     SHERIDAN, 


FARRAGUT. 


OF  THE" 

UNIVERSITY 

or  BY 

C4i 


A.uthor  of  a  "  History  of  the  Groat  Rebellion,"  «ka 


NEW  YORK : 
CHARLES    B.     RICHARDSON, 

540    BROADWAY. 

1866. 


LYtered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  ISbfi. 
BY  CHAKLES   3    RICHARDSON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  ft,.-  tr  « 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


THE  biographies  of  living  men  who  have  achieved 
distinction,  are  always  so  attractive  to  the  public,  that 
we  deem  no  apology  necessary  for  presenting  in  a 
single  portable  volume,  sketches  of  the  lives  of  those 
who  are  pre-eminently  our  GREAT  CAPTAINS.  There 
have  been,  we  are  aware,  four  or  five  previous  at- 
teirpts  to  give  publicity  to  the  life  and  services  of 
Lieutenant-General  Grant ;  but  while  the  greater 
part  have  dealt  largely  in  fiction,  none  have  at 
tempted,  as  we  have  done,  to  give  the  later  incidents 
of  a  military  career  now  rounding  into  completeness, 
by  the  suppression,  through  his  skilful  and  persistent 
strategy,  of  the  Great  Kebellion.  The  incidents  of 
General  Sherman's  life  have  also  been  once  or  twice 
related,  but  with  a  want  of  appreciation  of  his  pe 
culiar  and  transcendent  genius,  which  leaves  much  to 
be  desired,  and  which  we  have  endeavored  to  sup 
ply.  No  carefully  prepared  biographical  sketch  of 
Thomas,  Sheridan,  or  Farragut  has,  we  believe,  been 
hitherto  attempted. 

In  essaying  thus  to  bring  before  our  own  country 
men,  and  the  people  of  other  lands,  authentic  narra- 


1* 


153958 


O  PREFACE. 

tives  of  the  military  career  of  these  men,  who  have 
displayed  abilities  fully  equal  to  those  of  the  great 
captains  of  other  lands  in  the  past  hundred  years, 
we  have  been  prompted  by  no  vain-glorious  desire 
to  extol  unduly  our  own  military  chieftains,  or  to 
bestow  upon  mediocrity  the  laurels  due  to  extraor 
dinary  merit,  but  have  made  it  our  sole  object  to 
present  the  men  as  they  were,  and  put  OH  record,  for 
our  own  and  other  times,  the  deeds  for  which  they 
deserve  the  honor,  admiration,  and  esteem  of  the 
loyal  citizens  of  the  Republic. 

The  bearing,  influence,  and  effect  of  some  of  the 
great  battles  we  have  described,  upon  the  struggle 
in  which  we_are  engaged,  are  not  generally  under 
stood.  We  have  tried  to  make  these  plain ;  and  to 
show  that  through  all  the  movements  of  our  armies, 
the  shock  of  battles,  and  the  desperate  conflicts  for 
particular  points,  there  has  been  a  plan  and  purpose 
which  has  made  them,  not,  as  some  of  our  uii 
friendly  critics  across  the  ocean  have  so  often 
charged,  mere  collisions  of  brute  force,  without 
special  aim  or  object,  but  portions  of  comprehensive 
strategy,  having  for  its  objects  the  overthrow  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  the  re-establishment,  at  no  distant 
date,  of  the  authority  of  the  Republic  in  every  por 
tion  of  our  territory. 


CONTENTS. 


LivrTENANT-GENERAL  ULYSSES  SlMFSON  GRANT 9 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN 87 

MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE  H.  THOMAS 163 

MAJOR-GENERAL  PHILIP  HENRY  SHERIDAN 137 

VICE-ADMIIIAL  DAVID  GLASCOE  FARRAQTJT 227 


OUR  GREAT  CAPTAINS. 


i. 

Lieutenant-General  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant, 

ALTHOUGH  war  has  been,  daring  the  whole  historic 
period,  so  large  a  part  of  the  business  of  the  world, 
yet  the  number  of  great  captains,  commanders  pos 
sessing  the  highest  military  genius,  has  been  compar 
atively  small.  The  "  art  of  war"  is  not  a  science  to  be 
acquired  simply  by  study ;  its  conditions  are  ever  chang 
ing,  and  tactics  which  are  successful  in  one  age  may  be 
ill  adapted  for  another ;  a  strategy  which  may  be  ad 
mirable  in  one  country,  may  be  utterly  inadmissible  in 
another ;  and  movements  which,  in  a  country  of  wide 
plains,  good  roads,  and  few  rivers,  may  be  performed 
with  celerity  and  certainty,  may  prove  entirely  impos 
sible  in  a  mountainous,  heavily-wooded  country,  with 
swamps,  thickets,  miry  streams,  and  wretched  roads. 

We  must,  then,  in  judging  of  the  military  abilities  of  a 
commander,  take  into  account  the  age  in  which  he  lives, 
the  people  whom  he  commands,  the  enemy  with  which 
he  has  to  contend,  and  the  country  he  must  traverse. 
We  must  look  also  to  the  quality  of  his  mental  action. 
If  he  possesses  clear  perceptions,  foreseeing  readily  the 
measures  of  his  antagonist ;  if  he  is  fertile  in  resource, 
remedying  difficulties,  overcoming  seeming  impossibi 
lities,  and  accomplishing  his  purposes  in  the  face  of  the 
greatest  obstacles  ;  if  he  has  the  power,  not  only  to  plan 


10  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

Combined  operations,  but  to  so  control  their  details  as 
that  they  shall  not  foil ;  if,  above  all,  he  possesses  tact, 
and  a  control  over  his  troops  which  enables  him  to 
wield  them  at  his  will  to  execute  his  purposes, — then 
he  is  entitled  to  a  place  among  the  world's  great  com 
manders.  It  was  in  these  qualities  that  Alexander,  Han 
nibal,  Ca3sar,  and,  in  more  modern  times,  Turenne,  Marl- 
borough,  Frederick  the  Great,  Wellington,  and  Napoleon 
surpassed  the  other  generals  of  their  time.  But  few  as 
have  been  these  illustrious  names  in  the  past,  we  hope 
to  demonstrate  that  we  have  not  simply  one,  but  several 
great  captains.  Among  these,  none  is  more  deserving  of 
that  title  of  honor  than  the  general-in-chief  of  our  armies. 
It  is  now  somewhere  near  one  hundred  years  ago  that 
two  young  Scotchmen  of  the  name  of  Grant  left  their 
own  land  of  the  heather  for  the  New  World  across  the 
Atlantic.  Though  brothers,  they  did  not  choose  the 
same  location,  one  making  his  home  in  Canada,  the 
other  in  Pennsylvania.  The  latter  took  up  arms  in 
defence  of  his  adopted  country,  and  after  the  peace 
settled  upon  a  farm  in  Westmoreland  county,  Penn. 
Here  in  1794,  his  son,  Jesse  R.  Grant,  father  of  the 
lieutenant-general,  was  born.  In  1799,  the  attraction 
of  new  lands  in  the  northwestern  territory  drew  the 
sturdy  Scotch  farmer  across  the  Ohio.  For  four  or  five 
years  we  lose  sight  of  him  and  his  family,  the  forests  of 
Eastern  Ohio  being  the  favorite  haunts  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  who  reluctantly,  and  often  only  by  compulsion, 
relinquished  them  to  the  inrolling  tide  of  emigrants.  In 
1804,  however,  he  had  become  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  the  town  of  Deerfield,  on  the  Western  Reserve,  and 
now  in  Portage  county.  In  1805  Mr.  Grant  died,  leav 
ing  his  son  Jesse  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  eleven  years. 
Not  long  after,  the  boy  was  apprenticed  to  the  tanning 


GENERAL  GRANT. 

business,  and  when  the  barbarous  alliance  between  the 
British  and  the  Indians,  in  the  war  of  1812,  had  made 
the  northern  counties  of  Ohio  an  unsafe  region  for  women 
and  children,  he  removed  with  his  mother  and  family  to 
Maysville,  Kentucky.      In  1815  he  returned  to  Portage 
county,   and  established  himself  at  Ravenna  as  a  tanner. 
The  prevalence  of  ague  and  fever   in   Ravenna  drove 
young   Grant   thence   in    1820,  and   when  after  a   few 
months  he  returned  to  Ohio,  it  was  to  establish  himself 
in  the  southern  part,  near  the  banks  of  the   beautiful 
river.    Here,  in  June,  1821,  he  married  Hannah  Simp 
son,  the  daughter  of  an   emigrant   from  Pennsylvania, 
and,   like  himself,  a  native  of  that  State.     The  home  of 
the  young  couple  was  at  Point  Pleasant,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  in  Clermont  county,    but  a  few   miles  from  the 
city  of  Cincinnati.     Here,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1822, 
was  born   their  eldest  son,  the  hero  of  our  story.     The 
humble  cottage  which  was  his  birthplace  still  stands,  a 
frame  building  one  story  in  height ;  and  from  its  win 
dows  there  is  a  pleasant  view  of  the  Ohio,  and  of  the 
gently  sloping  Kentuckian  farms  on  its  further  bank. 

The  name  of  the  boy,  bestowed  at  the  instance  of  his 
maternal  grandparents,  was  Hiram  Ulysses,  and  so  it 
remained  until  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the  Mili 
tary  Academy  at  West  Point,  when,  by  the  oversight 
of 'the  member  of  Congress  who  appointed  him  a  cadet, 
he  was  entered  as  Ulysses  S.  Grant ;  and  after  attempting 
in  vain  to  have  his  baptismal  name  substituted,  he  sub 
mitted,  and  made  his  signature  conform  to^that  which 
had  thus  been  imposed  upon  him.  As  his  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Simpson,  the  middle  initial  came  to 
be  regarded  as  standing  for  Simpson. 

The  tanner's  son  proved  to  be  a  sturdy  little  urchin, 
entirely  devoid  of  fear;  not  precocious,  but  persevering, 


12  OUK  GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

and  with  a  Scotch  pertinacity  ot  will  in  the  achievement 
of  any  object  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  possessed  an  imperturbable  good-humor 
which  rendered  him  a  general  favorite. 

There  have  been  in  Lieutenant-General  Grant's  case, 
as  in  that  of  most  men  who  have  attained  high  position, 
numerous  stories  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  which  had 
their  origin  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  writers  who 
have  given  them  to  the  public.  To  repeat  these  would 
be  an  insult  to  the  illustrious  name  we  commemorate, 
but  there  are  a  few  incidents  which  have  been  preserved 
by  his  father,  which,  as  illustrating  the  traits  of  character 
which  he  has  since  developed,  are  worthy  of  record. 

Mr.  Grant  relates  that  when  Ulysses  was  but  two 
years  old,  he  took  him  in  his  arms  and  carried  him 
through  the  village  on  some  public  occasion,  and  a 
young  man  wished  to  try  the  effect  of  the  report  of 
a  pistol  on  him.  Mr.  Grant  consented,  though,  as  he 
said,  "the  child  had  never  seen  a  gun  or  pistol  in  his 
life."  The  hand  of  the  baby  was  accordingly  put  on  the 
lock  and  pressed  there  quietly,  until  the  pistol  was  dis 
charged  with  a  loud  report.  The  little  fellow  exhibited 
no  alarm,  neither  winking  nor  dodging,  but  presently 
pushed  the  pistol  away,  saying,  "  Fick  it  again  !  Fick 
it  again!" 

The  story  of  his  being  unable  to  understand  the  mean 
ing  of  the  word  can't  has  been  too  often  told  to  need 
repetition.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  he  has  never  yet 
succeeded  in  ascertaining  its  meaning  in  any  thing  which 
he  has  undertaken  to  do. 

A  still  more  characteristic  incident  is  related  of  him 
by  his  father.  When  Ulysses  was  twelve  years  of  age, 
his  father  wanted  several  sticks  of  hewn  timber  from  the 
forest,  and  sent  him  with  the  team  to  draw  them  to  the 


GENERAL   GRANT.  13 


village,  telling  him  that  men  would  be  there  with  hand 
spikes  to  help  load  them  on  to  the  wagon.     The  boy 
went  with   the  team,  but  on  arriving  at  his  destination 
the  men  were  not  there,  and  after  some  little  delay  they 
still  did  not   appear.     He  had  been  sent  for  the  timber, 
however,  and  he  had  no  intention  of  going  home  with- 
out  it.     Looking  about,   he  observed  at  a  little  distance 
a  tree  which  had  fallen  over,  and  was  leaning  against 
another,  its  trunk  forming  an  inclined  plane.     This,  he 
reasoned,  would  enable  him  to  get  the  timber  into  his 
wa^on  ;  accordingly  he  took  out  his  horses,  and  hitching 
them  to  the  logs,  drew  them  up  to  the  foot  of  the  fallen 
tree,  and,   backing  his  wagon  to  the  side  of  the  inclined 
plane,  he  pushed  and  drew  the  timber,  piece  after  piece, 
up  the  inclined  plane,  and  shoved  it  into  the  wagon,  and 
with  his  load  secured,  drove  home  triumphantly.     The 
incident  exhibits  very  forcibly  the  energy,  pertinacity, 
and  fertility  of  resource   which  have  characterized  the 
man  in  all  his  subsequent  career. 

In   school  the  boy  was  faithful,  diligent,   and  pains 
taking;  not  a  genius,  who  acquired  knowledge  without 
study,  but  a  boy  who  appreciated  the  value  of  an  educa 
tion,  and  who  was  not  to  be  disheartened  in  his  efforts 
to   obtain  one.     However  difficult  his  lessons  might  be, 
and  however  severe  the  study  required  to  master  them 
he  never  gave  up  to  discouragement,  but  if  one  method 
or  resource  tailed,  was   always   ready  to   try    another. 
But  the  advantages  of  school  training  were  limited  by 
the  want  of  good  schools  in  the  village,  the  small  por 
tion  of  the  year  .(only  three   months)  in  which  he  could 
attend,  and  the  straitened  circumstances  of  his  father, 
which  did  not  permit  him  to  send  his  son  abroad  for  an 
education.     The    education,   however,  young  Grant  de 
termined  to  have,  and  his  father  was  also  very  desirous 


14  CUE   GEE  AT   CAPTAINS. 

that  he  should  obtain  it.  He  had  reached  the  age  of 
seventeen,  when  it  was  decided  that  the  effort  should  be 
made  to  secure  an  appointment  as  cadet  at  West  Point. 
Application  was  first  made  to  Hon.  Thomas  Morris,  then 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio,  but  Mr.  Morris  had  already 
pledged  himself  to  another  applicant,  and  so  informed 
Mr.  Grant,  but  at  the  same  time  notified  him  of  a  va 
cancy  in  the  gift  of  Hon.  Thomas  L.  Hamer,  the  member 
of  Congress  from  Grant's  own  district,  the  young  man 
whom  he  had  appointed  having,  for  some  cause,  failed  to 
enter.  Mr.  Grant  immediately  corresponded  with  Mr. 
Hamer,  who  promptly  appointed  Ulysses  to  the  vacant 
cadetship.  Having  successfully  passed  his  preliminary 
examination,  the  young  cadet  entered  the  Academy, 
July  1,  1839. 

In  the  Military  Academy,  Grant  was  studious,  attentive 
to  all  his  duties,  and  though  he  had  not  enjoyed  the  ad 
vantages  of  many  of  his  classmates  in  early  education, 
he  soon  took  a  good  position  in  scholarship,  while  his 
amiable  disposition  won  him  the  friendship  of  all  his 
classmates.  The  examinations  at  this  period  were  very 
severe,  and  of  Grant's  class,  which  numbered  one  hun 
dred  in  1839,  only  thirty  graduated  in  1843.  He  stood 
No.  21,  his  standing  being  very  high  in  artillery  and 
infantry  tactics,  mathematics,  engineering,  and  horse 
manship,  and  fair  in  the  other  studies.  During  his  last 
year  he  was  commanding  officer  of  cadets.  Major-General 
Franklin,  and  Generals  Ingalls,  Steele,  and  Judah,  were 
among  his  classmates.  As  there  was  no  existing  va 
cancy,  he  was  on  his  graduation  breveted  Second-lieu 
tenant  of  the  Fourth  Infantry  regiment,  and  for  a  time 
after  joining  his  regiment,  then  at  Jefferson  Barracks, 
near  St.  Louis,  was  required  to  perform  the  duties  of  a 
private  soldier.  In  1844  he  removed  with  his  regiment 


GENERAL    GRANT. 


15 


up  the  Red  river,  in  Louisiana.  There  began  now  to  be 
rumors  of  war  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
in  consequence  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  in  1845 
General  Taylor  was  sent  to  the  border  in  command  of 
an  "  army  of  occupation,"  and  of  this  army  young 
Grant's  regiment,  the  Fourth  Infantry,  was  a  part.  Grant 
had  meantime  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  first-lieu 
tenant  of  the  Seventh  Infantry  ;  but  preferring  to  remain 
with  his  old  regiment,  where  there  seemed  more  chance 
of  seeing  service,  he  accepted  instead  the  second-lieu 
tenancy,  then  vacant  in  that  regiment. 

In  May,  1846,  Lieutenant  Grant,  with  his  regiment, 
moved  forward  to  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
and   in  both  those  battles  he  distinguished  himself  for 
gallantry  and  courage.     In  the  subsequent  storming  of 
Monterey,  he  received  honorable  mention  from  his  com- 
mander  for  his  good  conduct.      In  April,  1 847,  after  the 
capture  of  Yera  Cruz,  in  which  he  had  participated,  the 
youn<r  lieutenant  was  appointed  quartermaster  of  his  re 
giment,  and  served  in  this   capacity  through    the   re 
mainder  of  the  campaign  ;  but  he  showed  no  disposition 
to-avail  himself  of  his  privilege  of  remaining  in  his  own 
department  in  time  of  battle.     In  the  autumn  of  1847, 
at  the  desperate  assault  of  Molino  del  Rey,  and  at  the 
storming   of  Chapultepec  five    days   later,    Lieutenant 
Grant  exhibited  such  daring,  and  acted  so  promptly  and 
fearlessly,   as  to  receive  the  high  commendations  of  his 
superior  officers,  and  to  be  promoted  to  a  first-lieutenancy 
on  the  spot.      Among  those  who  spoke  in  the  highest 
terms  of  his  gallantry  and  daring  on  these  occasions  was 
Major  Francis  Lee,  then  commanding  the  Fourth  In 
fantry.  The  following  is  the  language  of  his  report  of  the 
storming  of  Chapultepec : 

"At  the  first  barrier  the  enemy  was  in  strong  force, 


16  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

which  rendered  it  necessary  to  advance  with  caution. 
This  was  done ;  and  when  the  head  of  the  battalion  was 
within  short  musket-range  of  the  barrier,  Lieutenant 
Grant,  Fourth  Infantry,  and  Captain  Brooks,  Second 
Artillery,  with  a  few  men  of  their  respective  regi 
ments,  by  a  handsome  movement  to  the  left  turned  the 
right  flank  of  the  enemy,  and  the  barrier  was  carried. 
Lieutenant  Grant  behaved  with  distinguished  gallantry 
on  the  13th  and  14th  of  September." 

This,  we  presume,  was  the  first  of  General  Grant's^/fan^- 
ing  movements,  a  kind  of  strategy  which  has  since  proved 
so  effective  on  more  extensive  fields.  Colonel  Garland, 
then  in  command  of  the  First  Brigade,  added  still  stronger 
testimony  to  the  military  skill  and  admirable  conduct  of 
the  young  lieutenant  on  the  same  occasion.  For  this 
achievement  he  was  brevetted  captain,  his  rank  to  date 
from  September  13,  1847.  During  the  Mexican  war 
Lieutenant  Grant  participated  in  fourteen  battles. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  the  volunteers  were 
mustered  out  of  service,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  regular  army  distributed  among  the  forts  and 
posts  on  the  frontiers.  In  August,  1848,  Lieutenant 
Grant  married  Miss  Dent,  a  young  lady  residing  near 
St.  Louis,  and  soon  after  was  ordered  to  Detroit,  Mi 
chigan,  and  after  a  time  to  the  post  of  Sackett's 
Harbor,  N.  Y.,  where  in  the  quiet  of  peace  he  im 
proved  his  leisure  by  the  study  of  military  science. 
In  the  autumn  of  1851  the  Fourth  Infantry  was 
ordered  to  the  Pacific  coast  to  preserve  order,  which 
was  greatly  endangered  by  the  reckless  and  \icious 
immigrants  who  flocked  thither  after  the  discovery  of 
gold.  The  battalion  which  Lieutenant  Grant  com 
manded  was  sent  into  Oregon,  and  had  its  headquarters 
for  some  time  at  Fort  Dallas,  in  that  territory.  While 


GENERAL   GKANT. 


17 


on  duty  here,  in  August,  1853,  Grant  received  his  com 
mission  as  captain.  The  times  were,  however,  unfavor 
able  to  military  advancement,  and  the  young  officer, 
who  had  now  served  eleven  years  in  the  army,  desirous 
of  getting  on,  and  seeing  but  little  prospect  of  promo 
tion  till  he  would  become  too  old  to  value  it,  resigned 
hfe  commission  on  the  31st  of  July,  1854,  and  returned 

to  civil  life. 

His  first  essay  seems  to  have  been  as  a  farmer,  on  a 
small  farm  belonging  to  his  father-in-law,  near  St.  Louis. 
But  though  industrious  and  pains-taking,  he  was  not  re 
markably  successful  as  a  farmer.     He  was,  after  a  time, 
appointed   collector   of  taxes   for  the  county  ;   but  his 
straightforward  honesty  and  truthfulness  were  no  match 
for  the  craft  and  deception  of  the  delinquent  tax-payers, 
and  he  could  not  make  as  full  collections  as  men  of  a 
sterner    and   more    unscrupulous  character  would  have 
done.     The  duties  of  an  auctioneer,  an  avocation  tried 
for  a  brief  period,  were  no  better  suited  to  his  tastes. 
He  felt  that  none  of  these  pursuits  were  such  as  he  could 
fill,  either  with  credit  or  satisfaction  to  himself.     In  1859, 
his  father,  who  had  for  many  years  conducted  the  tan 
ning  business  with  success,  proposed  to  him  to  go  into 
the  leather  and  saddlery  business,  in  partnership  with 
him,  at  Galena,  Illinois.     He  accepted  the  offer,  and  the 
house  of  Grant  &  Son  entered  upon  a  prosperous  busi 
ness  from  the  start.     The  quality  of  their  goods  was  of 
the  best,  and  their  dealings  were  so  honorable  and  fair 
that  customers  flowed  in  from  all  quarters,  and  the  house 
soon  became  famous,  and  was  rapidly  attaining  wealth. 
Meantime  there  were  dark   clouds  lowering  in  the  na 
tional  sky,  and  hoarse  mutterings  of  a  storm  which  was 
soon  to  burst  upon  the  land.     The  retired  captain  was 
not   so  absorbed  in  his  business  as  not  to  be  a  careful 

2* 


18  OTJK   GKKAT   CAPTAINS. 

watcher  of  the  coming  event.  When  at  last  the  echo  of 
the  guns  which  were  bombarding  Fort  Sumter,  on  the 
12th  and  13th  of  April,  1861,  resounded  over  the  land 
and  gave  token  that  the  Rebel  leaders  had  commenced  war 
upon  the  nation,  the  quiet  business  man,  without,  ado  or 
delay,  abandoned  his  business  and  gave  himself  to  the 
cause  of  his  country.  The  nation  had  educated  him, 
and  though  he  had  served  more  than  the  prescribed  time 
to  which  he  was  pledged  in  the  army,  he  still  felt  that 
in  the  hour  of  his  country's  peril  she  had  a  strong  claim 
upon  him  for  further  service.  To  raise  a  company,  and 
march  with  it  to  Springfield  and  tender  it  to  the  gov 
ernor,  was  his  first  act,  and  was  soon  accomplished. 
One  of  the  members  of  Congress  from  Illinois  wrote 
to  Governor  Yates,  recommending  Mr.  Grant  for  a 
military  command  ;  but  at  that  time,  inexperienced  in 
the  work  of  selecting  officers  to  command  his  troops, 
and  naturally  enough  supposing  that  an  officer  should 
be  a  man  of  imposing  figure  and  lofty  stature,  Gov 
ernor  Yates  looked  with  some  curiosity  upon  the 
small  man  clad  in  homespun,  who  seemed  so  diminu 
tive  in  comparison  with  some  of  the  stalwart  gigantic 
applicants,  and  gave  him  no  appointment. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the  governor  found 
himself  embarrassed  by  his  want  of  knowledge  of  the 
detail  necessary  in  the  organization  of  troops,  and,  call 
ing  upon  his  congressional  friend,  lie  inquired  if  that 
little  man  whom  he  had  recommended  to  him  under 
stood  these  matters.  The  Representative  answered  by 
bringing  Grant  to  the  governor,  and  finding  on  inquiry 
that  he  was  perfectly  conversant  with  these  details,  the 
governor  at  once  made  him  his  adjutant  general.  In 
this  position  he  worked  indefatigably,  and  soon  suc 
ceeded  in  bringing  order  out  of  confusion.  The  gov- 


GENERAL    GRANT.  19 

ernor  was  now  called  upon  by  the  President  to  name 
two  officers  for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general,  and  proposed  the  name  of  his  adjutant-general 
for  one ;  but  Grant  declined,  as  he  had  not  earned  the 
promotion.  In  June,  the  three  months'  troops  being 
organized,  Adjutant-General  Grant  made  a  flying  visi 
to  his  father  at  Covington,  Ky.,  and  while  there  a  com 
mission  was  sent  him  from  Governor  Yates  as  colonel 
of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteers.  The  colonel 
originally  appointed  to  the  command  of  this  regiment, 
one  of  Governor  Yates's  fine  commanding-looking  men, 
had  proved  utterly  wanting  in  military  capacity,  and  his 
regiment  had  fallen  into  disorder.  The  governor  had 
refused  to  commission  him,  and  inquired  of  Grant  by 
telegraph  if  he  would  take  the  command  of  the  turbu 
lent  regiment.  He  consented,  and  hastened  to  join  his 
regiment  at  Mattoon,  where  it  was  organized,  and  re 
moved  it  to  Casey ville  for  encampment.  The  new 
colonel  made  no  display  of  authority,  and  was  not  in 
the  least  boisterous,  but  by  the  quiet  influence  of  ex 
ample,  and  the  exercise  of  his  remarkable  tact,  he 
soon  had  the  regiment  under  the  strictest  discipline,  and 
in  a  month,  from  being  the  most  turbulent  and  disorderly 
regiment  in  the  State,  it  became  the  model  organiza 
tion.  At  this  time  Quincy,  Illinois,  was  thought  to 
be  in  danger,  and  an  application  was  made  to  the 
governor  for  a  force  for  its  protection.  It  was  difficult 
to  find  transportation,  for  Quincy  was  a  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  distant,  and  the  railroads  were  unable  to 
furnish  a  sufficient  number  of  cars.  Colonel  Grant  heard 
of  the  governor's  difficulty,  and  sent  him  word,  "  Send 
my  regiment,  and  I  will  find  the  transportation."  The 
governor  at  once  gave  orders  to  send  the  Twenty- 
first  regiment,  and  before  night  it  commenced  its 


20  OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

march  on  foot,  and  arrived  in  due  season  in  excellent 
order. 

The  first  service  to  which  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  was 
assigned  was  to  guard  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph's 
railroad.  Several  regiments  having  been  ordered  to  this 
service,  it  was  necessary  that  one  of  the  regimental  com 
manders  should  become  acting  brigadier-general,  and 
control  the  whole,  as  no  brigadier-general  had  been  as 
signed  to  the  command.  For  this  office  Grant,  though 
the  youngest  colonel  on  the  ground,  was  selected,  and 
took  command  at  Mexico,  Missouri,  July  31,  1861.  On 
the  9th  of  August,  Colonel  Grant  was  commissioned 
brigadier-general,  and  sent  with  an  adequate  force  to 
Southern  Missouri,  where  the  rebel  General  Jeff.  Thomp 
son  was  threatening  an  advance.  He  visited  Ironton, 
superintended  the  erection  of  fortifications  there  and  at 
Marble  creek,  and,  leaving  a  garrison  in  each  place  to 
defend  it,  hastened  to  Jefferson  City,  which  was  also 
threatened,  and  protected  it  from  rebel  attacks  for  ten 
days,  when  Thompson,  having  abandoned  his  purpose, 
General  Grant  left  the  Missouri  capital  to  enter  upon  the 
command  of  the  important  district  of  Cairo. 

It  was  while  he  was  in  Southern  Missouri,  his  biogra 
phers  say,  that  he  issued  his  famous  special  order  con 
cerning  Mrs.  Selvidge's  pie.  The  incident,  which  illus 
trates  somewhat  forcibly  the  quiet  humor  which  is  a 
marked  characteristic  of  the  general,  was  something 
like  this: 

In  the  rapid  marches  of  his  force  in  Southern  Mis 
souri,  their  rations  were  often  scanty,  and  not  very 
palatable,  but  the  region  was  poor  and  sparsely  set 
tled,  and,  for  the  most  part,  there  was  no  chance  of 
procuring  food  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
through  which  they  were  passing.  At  length,  how- 


GENERAL  GRANT. 

ever   they  emerged  into  a  better  and  more  cultivated 
section,  and  Lieutenant  Wickham,  of  an  Indiana  cavalry 
reoiment,  who  was  in  command  of  the  advance  guard  < 
eizht  men,  halted  at  a  farm-house  of  somewhat  more  com. 
fortable    appearance  than  any  which  they  had  passed, 
and  entered  the  dwelling  with  two  second-lieutenants. 
Pretending  to  be  Brigadier-General  Grant,  he  demanded 
food  for  himself  and  his  staff.     The  family,  whose  loyalty 
was  somewhat  doubtful,  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  the  Union 
general  being  on  their  premises,  hastily  brought  forward 
the  best  their  bouse   afforded,  at  the  same  time  loudly 
protesting  their  attachment  to  the  Union  cause, 
lieutenants    ate  their   fill,  and,    offering  to  compensate 
their  hosts,  were  told  that  there  Was  nothing  t 
whereupon  they  went  on  their  way,    chuckling    at  then- 
adroitness  in  getting  so  good  a  dinner  for  nothing,  bo 
after,  General  Grant,  who  had  halted  his  army  for  a  short 
rest  a  few  miles  further  back,  came  up,  and  being  rather 
favorably  impressed  with  the    appearance   of  the  iarm- 
house,  rode  up  to  the  door  and  asked  if  they  would  cook 
him   a  meal.     The  woman,  who  grudged  the  food  al 
ready  furnished  to  the  seltstyled  general  and  his  stall, 
replied  gruffly,  «  No  !  General  Grant  and  his  staff  have 
just  been  here,  and  eaten  every  thing  in  the  house,  e: 
cept  one  pumpkin-pie." 

"  Ah !»  said  Grant ;  "  what  is  your  name  ?» 
"  Selvidge,"  answered  the  woman. 
Tossing  her   a  half-dollar,  the  general  asked,  "Will 
you  keep  that  pie  till  I  send  an  officer  for  it  ?" 
"  I  will,"  said  the  woman. 

The  general  and  staff  rode  on,  and  soon  a  camping 
ground  was  selected,  and  the  regiments  were  notified 
that  there  would  be  a  grand  parade  at  half-past  six  for 
orders.  This  was  unusual,  and  neither  officers  nor  men 


22  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

could  imagine  what  was  coming.  The  parade  was 
formed,  however,  ten  columns  deep  and  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  length.  After  the  usual  review,  the  assistant 
adjutant-general  read  the  following: 

"HEADQUARTERS,  ARMT  IN  THE  FIELD. 

"  Special  Order,  No. . 

"  Lieutenant  Wickham,  of  the Indiana  Cavalry, 

having  on  this  day  eaten  every  thing  in  Mrs.  Selvidge's 
house,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Ironton  and  Pocahontas 
and  Black  river  and  Cape  Girardeau  roads,  except  one 
pumpkin  pie,  Lieutenant  Wickfield  is  hereby  ordered  to 
return  with  an  escort  of  one  hundred  cavalry  and  eat 

that  pie  also. 

"U.  S.  GRANT, 
"  Brigadier-general  commanding." 

To  attempt  to  evade  this  order  was  useless,  and  at 
seven  o'clock  the  lieutenant  filed  out  of  camp  with  his 
hundred  men,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  whole  army.  The 
escort  witnessed  the  eating  of  the  pie,  the  whole  of 
which  the  lieutenant  succeeded  in  devouring,  and  re 
turned  to  camp. 

The  post  of  Cairo,  the  headquarters  of  the  district  to 
the  command  of  which  General  Grant  was  now  ordered, 
was  one,  from  its  position,  of  great  importance  to  the 
Union  cause.  It  commanded  both  the  Ohio  and  the 
Upper  Mississippi,  and  was  the  depot  of  supplies  for  an 
extensive  region  above,  and  subsequently  below.  Grant's 
command  extended  along  the  shores  of  the"  Mississippi 
as  far  as  Cape  Girardeau,  and  on  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth 
of  Green  river,  and  included  Western  Kentucky.  That 
State  at  this  time  was  trying  to  maintain  a  neutral  posi 
tion,  favoring  neither  the  Union  -nor  the  rebels,  a  posi- 


GENERAL    GRANT. 

tion  which  was  as  absurd  as  it  was  soon  found  to  be  im 
possible.  The  rebels  were  the  first  to  cross  the  lines 
and  take  possession  of  the  important  towns  of  Columbus 
andHickman,onthe  Mississippi,  and  Bowling  Green  on 
the  Green  river,  all  of  which  they  fortified.  General 
Grant  was  apprized  of  these  violations  of  Kentucky's 
professed  neutrality,  and  as  they  afforded  him  ample 
justification  for  occupying  positions  within  the  State,  he 
quietly  sent  a  body  of  troops  on  the  6th  of  September 
up  the  Ohio  to  Paducah,  a  town  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tennessee,  and  took  possession  of  it  at  the  time  when 
the  secessionists  there  were  looking  for  the  entry  of  the 
rebel  troops  who  were  marching  to  occupy  it.  The  rage 
of  these  enemies  of  the  country  can  be  better  imagined 
than  described.  Rebel  flags  were  flaunted  in  the  faces 
of  our  troops,  and  they  were  told  that  they  should  not 
Ion"-  retain  possession  of  the  town. 

This  did  not,  however,  in  the  least  disturb  the  equa 
nimity  of  General  Grant.  He  issued  a  proclamation  to 
the  inhabitants,  informing  them  of  his  reasons  for  taking 
possession  of  the  town,  and  that  he  was  prepared  to  de 
fend  the  citizens  against  the  enemy  ;  and  added,  signifi 
cantly,  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  opinions,  but 
should  deal  only  with  armed  rebellion,  and  its  aiders 
and  abettors. 

On  the  25th  of  September  he  dispatched  a  force  to 
Southland,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  river,  and 
took  possession  of  that  town  also.  The  principal  avenues 
through  which  the  rebels  had  obtained  supplies  of  food, 
clothing,  arms,  arid  ammunition,  from  the  North,  were 
thus  effectually  closed. 

When  General  Grant  was  assigned  to  the  command 
at  Cairo,  General  McClernand's  brigade  and  some  other 
troops  were  added  to  his  own  brigade  Having  taken 


24  OTJR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

possession  of  Paducah  and  Smithland,  he  now  began  to 
turn  his  attention  to  Columbus,  Ky.,  an  important  posi 
tion,  held  by  the  rebel  Major-Generai  Polk  (a  former 
bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church)  with  a  force 
of  twenty  thousand  men.  He  had  nearly  completed  his 
arrangements  for  attacking  this  post,  when  the  Govern 
ment  ordered  him  to  send  live  of  his  regiments  to  St. 
Louis ;  this  left  him  too  weak  to  make  the  attack  with 
any  hope  of  success.  Meantime,  there  had  been  some 
correspondence  between  General  Polk  and  General 
Grant,  concerning  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  of  which 
each  side  had  taken  a  considerable  number.  General 
Polk  commenced  the  correspondence,  proposing  the  ex 
change,  and  referred  repeatedly  in  his  communication 
to  the  Confederate  army  and  the  Confederate  States. 
General  Grant  replied  that  he  had  no  authority  to  make 
exchanges ;  that  he  recognized  no  southern  confederacy 
himself,  but  would  communicate  with  higher  authorities 
for  their  views,  and,  should  he  not  be  sustained,  would 
mid  means  of  communicating  with  him. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  General  Grant  having  learned 
that  the  rebel  General  Jeff.  Thompson  was  approaching 
Pilot  Knob,  Mo.,  and  evidently  purposing  an  extensive 
raid  through  Southeastern  Missouri,  ordered  fifteen 
hundred  men,  under  Colonel  Plummer,  then  stationed  at 
Cape  Girardeau,  to  move  towards  Fredericktown,  Mo., 
by  way  of  Jackson  and  Dallas,  forming  a  junction  at  the 
latter  place  with  Colonel  Carlin,  who  had  been  ordered 
to  move  with  three  thousand  men  from  another  point, 
.and,  pursuing  Thompson,  to  defeat  and  rout  his  force. 
The  expeditions  were  successful.  Thompson  was  found, 
on  the  21st  of  October,  not  far  from  Dallas,  on  the 
Greenville  road,  and,  after  an  action  of  two  and  a  half 
hours,  defeated  and  routed  with  very  heavy  loss.  Co- 


GENERAL   GRANT.  25 

lonel  Plummer  captured  in  this  engagement  forty-two 
prisoners  and  one  twelve-pounder. 

By  this  expedition,  General  Grant  ascertained  the  posi 
tion  and  strength  of  Jeff.  Thompson's  Forces,  and  learned 
also  that  the  rebels  were  concentrating  a  considerable 
force  at  Belmont,  Missouri,  nearly  opposite  Columbus, 
Ky.,  with  a  view  to  blockade  the  Mississippi  river,  and 
to  move  speedily  upon  his  position  at  Cairo.  Having 
received  orders  to  that  effect  from  his  superior  officers, 
General  Grant  resolved  to  break  up  this  camp,  although 
aware  that  the  rebels  could  be  reinforced  to  almost  any 
extent  from  Columbus,  Ky. 

On   the    evening  of  the  6th  of  November,  General 
Grant  embarked  two  brigades,  in  all  about  two  thou 
sand   eight    hundred    and  fifty  men,    under    his    own 
and  General  McClernand's    command,    on    board  river 
steamers,    and    moved  down  the  Mississippi.     He  had 
previously  detached  small  bodies  of  troops  to  threaten 
Columbus  from  different  directions,  and  to  deceive  the 
rebels  as  to  his  intentions.     The  ruse  was  successful,  and 
the  force  which  he   commanded  in  person  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Belmont,  and   landed  before  the  enemy  had 
comprehended   their  intention.     The  Union  troops,  dis 
embarking  with    great    promptness,    marched   rapidly 
towards  the  rebel   camp,  a  distance  of  about  two  and  a 
half  miles,    and,    forcing   their    way   through  a  dense 
abatis   and  other   obstructions,   charged    through    the 
camp,    capturing  their  camp  equipage,    artillery,    and 
small-arms,  and  burned  the  tents,  blankets,  &c.    They 
also  took  a  large  number  of  prisoners.     The  rebel  force 
at  the  camp  was   not  far  from  4,000,  but  General  Polk, 
learning  of  the  attack,  sent  over  as  reinforcements  eight 
regiments,  or  somewhat  more  than  4,000  more  troops, 
under  the  command   of  Generals  Pillow  and  Cheatham, 

3 


26  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

and  finally  crossed  the  river  himself  and  took  corn 
mand.  General  Grant  having  accomplished  all,  and 
more  than  he  expected,  and  being  aware  that  Belmont 
was  covered  by  the  batteries  at  Columbus,  and  that 
heavy  reinforcements  could  readily  be  sent  from  thence, 
made  no  attempt  to  hold  the  position,  but  withdrew  in 
good  order.  On  their  way  to  their  transports,  the 
Union  troops  were  confronted  by  the  fresh  rebel  force 
under  Folk's  command,  and  a  severe  battle  ensued, 
during  which  a  considerable  number  of  the  rebel  pris 
oners  made  their  escape ;  and  there  were  heavy  losses 
in  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides,  the  Union  loss 
amounting  to  nearly  one  hundred  killed,  and  four  hun 
dred  or  five  hundred  wounded  and  missing,  the  larger 
part  of  whom  were  prisoners.  What  was  the  exact 
rebel  loss  has  never  transpired,  but  it  is  known  to  have 
been  larger  than  this,  the  number  of  prisoners  alone  ex 
ceeding  the  total  Union  loss.  The  Union  troops  at 
ength  succeeded  in  reaching  their  transports  and  re- 
embarking,  under  the  protection  of  the  gunboats  Tyler 
and  Lexington,  which  had  conveyed  them,  bringing 
with  them  two  cannon  which  they  had  captured,  and 
spiking  two  others,  which  they  were  obliged  to  abandon. 
This  action,  which  was  represented  in  some  quarters  as 
a  Union  defeat,  proved  to  have  been  rather  a  Union  vic 
tory,  the  advantages  being  decidedly  on  the  part  of 
General  Grant,  and  his  men  having,  by  the  action, 
gained  confidence  in  themselves  and  in  their  com 
mander. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  General  Halleck,  who  was 
then  in  command  of  the  western  department,  reorganized 
the  districts  of  his  command,  and  enlarged  the  district 
of  Cairo,  including  in  it  all  the  southern  portion  of  Illi 
nois,  all  of  Kentucky  west  of  the  Cumberland  river, 


GENERAL    GBAJSTf. 


27 


and  the  southern  counties  of  Missouri,  and  appointed 
General  Grant  commander  of  the  new  district.  Large 
numbers  of  troops  newly  mustered  into  the  service,  and 
as  yet  untrained  to  military  duties,  poured  into  this  dis 
trict,  some  for  service  within  its  limits,  others  intended 
to  reinforce  the  armies  in  other  districts.  General  Grant 
maintained  a  vigilant  supervision  over  these,  and,  where- 
ever  it  was  possible,  subjected  them  to  a  thorough  dis 
cipline,  organization,  and  training,  to  quality  them  for 
service,  and  then  distributed  them  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible  to  the  various  posts  within  his  district,  or,  when 
so  directed,  to  other  points.  On  the  10th  of  Janu 
ary,  1862,  the  troops  under  the  command  of  General 
McClernand  were  sent  in  transports,  convoyed  by  two 
gunboats,  to  Fort  Jefferson,  Ky.,  and  landed  there,  the 
gunboats  being  ordered  to  lie  off  the  fort.  The  rebels 
attacked  these  gunboats  with  three  vessels  the  next  day, 
but  were  beaten  off  after  a  brisk  engagement,  and  pur 
sued  till  they  took  refuge  under  the  batteries  of 
Columbus. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1862,  General  Grant  made 
an  extended  reconnoissance  in  force,  moving  in  three 
columns,  by  different  routes,  to  explore  the  country  east 
of  Columbus,  and  ascertain  the  rebel  strength  and  posi 
tion,  with  a  view  to  an  important  enterprise  soon  to  be 
undertaken.  The  reconnoissance  was  a  severe  and  la 
borious  one  for  raw  troops,  on  account  of  the  weather 
and  the  condition  of  the  roads,  but  it  was  in  every 
respect  successful.  On  this  march,  General  Grant  issued 
general  orders,  the  first,  it  is  believed,  issued  during  the 
war,  prohibiting,  under  the  severest  penalties,  all  private 
plundering  and  straggling,  and  directing  the  order  of 
march.  The  gunboats  which  had  been  constructed 
during  the  autumn  and  winter  on  the  Mississippi, 


28  OTJR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

above  Cairo,  were  now  completed,  and  General  Grant 
called  for  volunteers  from  the  troops  to  man  them,  as 
there  was  a  lack  of  sailors  to  make  up  the  complement 
for  their  efficient  management.  The  number  of  volun 
teers  proved  sufficient,  and  the  gunboat  flotilla,  under 
the  command  of  Flag-officer  (afterwards  Rear-Admiral) 
A.  H.  Foote,  was  soon  ready  for  action. 

Grant  kept  up  his  feint  of  attacking  Columbus,  and 
by  his  movements  and  general  orders,  issued  for  effect, 
led  the  rebels  to  concentrate  at  that  point  most  of  their 
available  forces,  while  he  was  preparing  for  a  flank 
movement  in  a  different  direction,  which  would  compel 
them  to  evacuate  that  post  without  his  striking  a  blow. 
Two  large  divisions  were  secretly  concentrated  at  Pa^ 
ducah  and  Smithland,  at  the  mouths  of  the  Tennessee 
and  Cumberland  rivers,  under  the  command  of  Generals 
C.  F.  Smith  and  Lewis  Wallace ;  and  the  other  two  di 
visions  under  his  command,  which  were  apparently  ready 
to  pounce  upon  Columbus,  were  quietly  withdrawn,  and 
one  being  left  to  hold  his  base  at  Cairo,  the  other  was 
transferred  by  night  to  Paducah,  on  the  night  of  Feb. 
2d,  and,  with  the  troops  already  there,  moved  directly 
upon  Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee  river.  The  gun 
boats  were  also  moving  for  the  same  point,  and  arrived 
on  the  morning  of  February  6th,  in  advance  of  the 
troops,  who  were  delayed  by  the  condition  of  the  roads. 
Grant  was  hastening  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and 
was  prepared  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  garrison.  Flag- 
officer  Foote,  having  ascertained  that  the  rebels  were 
expecting  reinforcements,  resolved  to  attack  the  fort 
without  waiting  for  the  land  forces  to  come  up.  He  did 
so;  and,  after  an  engagement  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter, 
the  garrison  surrendered  the  fort,  the  rebel  forces  out 
side  having  made  their  escape  to  Fort  Donelson. 


GENERAL    GRANT. 


29 


General  Grant  came  up  within  an  hour,  and  the  fort 
and  its  contents  was  handed  over  to  him.  The  disposi 
tions  he  had  made  would  have  insured  its  capture  the 
same  day,  had  Flag-officer  Foote  not  anticipated  the 
time  of  attack. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Henry,   however,  was  but  one 
item   in    the    programme    which    General   Grant    had 
marked    out    for    accomplishment.     Fort    Donelson,    a 
much    larger    and    stronger  work,    and  defended  by  a 
garrison  of  more  than  twenty  thousand    men,  and  lying 
nearly  east  of  Fort  Henry,  still  obstructed  the  passage 
of  the   Cumberland,   and  forbade  the  advance  of  the 
Union  forces  southward.     To  possess  himself  of  this  im 
portant  fortress  was  the  design  of  General  Grant,  and 
ordering  up  all  the  available  forces  of  his  district  to  join 
him  on  the  strip  of  land  lying  between  the  Tennessee 
and    Cumberland    rivers,    near    the  Kentucky  line,   on 
the  llth  of  February  the  three   divisions   constituting 
his  force,    under   the  command    of    Generals    McCler- 
nand,    C.   F.  Smith,    and    Lewis  Wallace,    moved    by 
different    routes    towards  Fort  Donelson,    and  by  the 
evening  of  the  12th  were  in  front  of  the  fort.    General 
Grant  proceeded  at  once  to  put  them  in  position  to  in 
vest  the  fort,  though,  owing  to  the  non-arrival  of  the 
gunboats,  which  had  been  obliged  to  descend  the  Ten 
nessee  and  ascend  the  Cumberland,  the  riverfront  of  the 
fort  was  still  open.     On  the  morning  of  the  13th  the 
Carondelet,  the  only  gunboat   which   had    arrived,  by 
General    Grant's    direction    engaged    the    fort  for  two 
hours,  and  then  withdrew.      The  object  of  this  diver 
sion  was  to  give  time  for  the  remainder  of  his  troops 
and  the  gunboats  to  arrive  by  way  of  the  river.     On 
the  14th,   the  gunboats  and  troops  having  arrived,    a 
combined    attack   by   the  land  and  marine  forces  was 

3* 


30 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


ordered.     The  principal  attack  was  made  by  the  gun 
boats,  which  silenced  the  water-batteries ;  but,   after  a 
protracted  contest,  two  of  the  iron-clacls  were  disabled 
by  plunging  shots  from  the  higher  batteries,  and   two 
others  so  much  injured  that  a  single  shot  might  disable 
them  entirely.     Under  these  circumstances,  Flag-officer 
Foote,  who  had  already  been  wounded',  decided  to  with 
draw  from  the  action.      General  Grant  now  proposed  to 
reduce  the  fort  by  siege,  but  on  the  morning  of  the  15th 
the   enemy  made  a  sudden   and    desperate  sortie  from 
their  works  upon   the  extreme  right  of  the  Union  line, 
and  at  first  broke  it  and  captured  two  batteries  of  artil 
lery.    Very  soon  the  troops  were  rallied,  reinforcements 
brought  up,  and  all  but  three  of  the  captured  guns  re 
taken.     The  rebels  in  turn  were  reinforced,  and  again 
broke   through  the  Union  lines  and  drove  back  the  sup 
porting  regiments,  holding  the  position  they  had  gained 
with  great  tenacity.     At  this  time  the  Union  centre  had 
advanced   and  gained  some  successes  in  the  rebel  line, 
but  so  successful  had  the  rebels  been  on  the  right  that 
the  day  seemed  lost.     General  Pillow,  the  second  officer 
iu  command  in  the  rebel  fort,    telegraphed  to  Nashville, 
"  Upon  the  honor  of  a  soldier,  the  day  is  ours."     But 
while  some  of  the  Union  officers  gave  way  to  despond 
ency,  no    such   feeling    found  a  place  in  the  heart  of 
General  Grant.     At  the  darkest  moment,  he  exclaimed 
to  one  of  his  staff,  after  comparing  the  reports  of  the  of 
ficers   sent  into  headquarters,  "Good!  we    have  them 
now  exactly  where   we    want   them."     General    0.   F. 
Smith,  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in  the  army,  was  ordered 
to  make  a  vigorous  assault  with  his  fresh  troops  on  the 
left   of  the  line,  and  carry  it  at   whatever  cost;  and, 
meantime,  Lewis  Wallace  was  to  hurl  his  force  against 
the  enemy  in  their  advanced  position  on  the  right,  and 


GENERAL   GRANT.  31 

drive  them  back  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  General 
Smith's  advance  was  one  of  the  finest  of  the  war.  With 
his  cap  lifted,  and  his  gray  hair  streaming  in  the  wind, 
he  galloped  along  the  front  of  his  men,  unheeding  the 
missiles  which  flew  thick  around  him  like  the  pattering 
of  a  heavy  rain.  "  Steady !  men  ;  steady !"  rang  out  in 
his  clear  tones ;  and  steadily  they  advanced,  though  at 
every  step  their  lines  were  thinned  by  the  deadly  minie 
balls.  They  reached  the  line  of  the  rebel  troops,  and 
drove  them  back,  back,  till  they  had  gained  a  position 
from  which  they  could  render  the  strongest  portion  of 
the  fort  untenable.  Then  rang  out  their  hurrahs,  and 
the  whole  army  resounded  with  shouts  of  triumph. 
Wallace  had  done  his  work  well ;  and  at  sunset  the 
Union  army  occupied  a  position  along  the  whole  line 
which  it  was  evident  would  give  them  the  fort  in  an 
other  day.  That  night  the  rebel  generals  held  a  council 
to  deliberate  on  their  action  for  the  morrow.  General 
Buckner,  who  had  held  the  position  on  the  left,  from 
which  he  had  been  driven  by  General  Smith,  declared 
that  he  could  not  hold  his  post  a  half-hour  if  the  Union 
troops  should  attack,  as  they  were  certain  to  do,  at  day 
break  ;  that  his  men  were  too  much  wearied  and  dis 
couraged  to  fight,  and  proposed  to  treat  with  Grant  for 
an  armistice,  and  to  capitulate  on  the  best  terms  that 
could  be  obtained.  Floyd  and  Pillow  objected  to  this; 
they  were  unwilling  to  be  taken  prisoners, — Floyd,  in  par 
ticular,  being  conscious  of  a  record  as  secretary  of  war 
which  would  put  his  life  in  peril.  There  was  some  talk 
of  attempting  to  fight  their  way  out,  but  Buckner  de 
clared  that  three-fourths  of  the  troops  would  be  sacri 
ficed  in  the  attempt ;  and  it  was  finally  arranged  that 
Floyd  and  Pillow  should  relinquish  their  commands  to 
Buckner,  and  escape  with  what  troops  they  could  take 


32  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

away,  and  Buckner  should  surrender  with  the  re 
mainder.  Accordingly,  Floyd  and  Pillow  stole  away 
during  the  night  with  one  brigade  of  rebel  troops,  and 
embarking  on  some  small  steamboats  in  the  river,  made 
their  escape  to  Nashville. 

At  dawn  of  the  16th,  a  messenger,  bearing  a  flag  of 
truce,  approached  the  Union  lines  with  a  message  for 
General  Grant.  It  was  as  follows  : 

"HEADQUARTERS,  FORT  DONELSON,) 
FEBRUARY  16,  1862.         ) 

"  SIR, — In  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  gov 
erning  the  present  situation  of  affairs  at  this  station,  I 
propose  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Federal  forces 
the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  agree  upon  terms 
of  capitulation  of  the  forces  and  fort  under  my  com 
mand,  and  in  that  view  suggest  an  armistice  till  twelve 
o'clock  to-day. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
S.  B.  BUCKNER,  BRIGK-GEN.,  C.  S.  A. 
To  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  GRANT,  commanding 

United  States  forces  near  Fort  Donelson." 

The  writer  of  this  note  knew  what  Grant  did  not, 
that  he  was  powerless  to  continue  the  contest  another 
hour,  and  that  his  two  senior  generals  and  a  part  of  his 
troops  had  already  fled ;  but  Grant  was  fully  assured 
that  before  sunset  of  that  day  he  could  carry  the  fort  by 
force  of  arms,  though  perhaps  with  considerable  loss; 
but  he  had  no  disposition  to  hold  parley  long  with  a 
traitor,  nor  to  yield  other  and  better  conditions  to  him 
than  such  as  he  had  the  power  to  enforce  within  a  few 
hours,  and  he  accordingly  sent  back  by  Buckner's  mes 
senger  the  following  brief  but  decisive  reply : 


GENERAL    GRANT. 

«  HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  IN  THE  FIELD      j. 
CAMP  NEAR  DONELSON,  FEB.  16, 1862.  J 

To  GENERAL  S.  B.  BUCKNER,  Confederate  Army. 

Yours  of  this  date  proposing  an  armistice,  and  ap 
pointment  of  commissioners  to  settle  terms  of  capitula 
tion,  is  just  received.  No  terms  other  than  uncondi 
tional  and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted.  1  pro 
pose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works." 
I  am,  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Brig.-Gen.,  U.  S.  A.,  commanding." 

The  rebel  general  was  greatly  chagrined  at  this  reply, 
but  knowing  his  inability  to  sustain  another  assault,  he 
was  compelled  to  submit,  which  he  did  most  ungra 
ciously  in  the  following  letter : 


"HEADQUARTERS,  DOVER 

FEB.  16, 
To  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  U.  S.  GRANT,  U.  S.  A. 

SIR,— The  distribution  of  the  forces  under  my  com 
mand,'  incident  to  an  unexpected  change  of  commanders, 
and  the  overwhelming  force  under  your  command, 
compel  me,  notwithstanding  the  brilliant  success  of  the 
Confederate  arms  yesterday,  to  accept  the  ungenerous 
and  unchivalrous  terms  which  you  propose. 

I  am,  sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 
S.  B.  BUCKNER, 

Brig.-Gen.,  C.  S.  A. 

\ 

By  this  surrender  the  Union  troops  received,^  and  the 
rebels  lost,  over  thirteen  thousand  prisoners,  including 
one  brigadier-general  and  numerous  inferior  officers, 
three  thousand  horses,  forty-eight  field-pieces,  seventeen 


34:  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

heavy  guns,  twenty  thousand  stand  of  amis,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  commissary  stores.  The  rebel  Joss,  aside 
from  this,  was  230  killed,  and  1,007  wounded,  some 
of  whom  were  prisoners.  The  Union  loss  was,  killed 
446,  wounded  1,735,  prisoners  150.  The  day  after  the 
capitulation  two  regiments  of  rebel  Tennesseans,  num 
bering  1,745  officers  and  men,  who  had  been  ordered  to 
reinforce  Fort  Donelson,  but  were  unaware  of  the  sur 
render,  marched  into  the  fort  with  colors  flying,  and 
were  at  once  made  prisoners. 

The  capture  of  these  forts  having  effectually  flanked 
the  rebel  posts  of  Columbus  and  Bowling  Green,  Ky., 
the  rebel  commanders  made  all  haste  to  evacuate  them, 
Polk  descending  the  river  to  island  No.  Ten,  and  John 
ston  making  a  hurried  retreat  to  Nashville,  Tenn. 

The  victory  thus  won  caused  the  promotion  of  General 
Grant  to  the  major-generalship,  his  commission  dating 
Feb.  16,  1862.  It  may  be  as  well  in  this  place  to  meet 
the  charge  which  was  about  this  time  industriously  prop 
agated,  that  General  Grant  was  addicted  to  habits  of 
intemperance.  The  masterly  manner  in  which  he  had 
conducted  the  brief  campaign  just  closed  was  in  itself  an 
indication  that  he  could  not  have  been,  as  was  freely 
charged,  an  habitual  drunkard  ;  but  we  have  other  and 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  charge,  however  it  origi 
nated,  was  wholly  false.  His  father,  and  the  officers  of 
his  staff,  who  have  been  with  him  throughout  the  war, 
testify  that  he  is,  and  has  been  from  his  youth,  one  of 
the  most  abstemious  of  men,  rarely  or  never  tasting  in 
toxicating  liquors,  even  as  a  medicine. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  General  Halleck,  foreseeing 
the  result  which  soon  followed,  announced  the  formation 
of  the  new  military  district  of  West  Tennessee,  bounded 
on  the  south  by  Tennessee  river  and  the  State  line  of 


GENERAL    GRANT.  35 

Mississippi,  and  west  by  the  Mississippi  river  as  far 
north  as  Cairo.  To  the  command  of  this  new  district 
he  assigned  General  Grant,  with  permission  to  select  his 
own  headquarters. 

In  taking  command  of  this  new  district,  on  the  17th 
of  February,  General  Grant  first  issued  the  following 
congratulatory  order  to  the  troops  which  had  aided  in 
the  reduction  of  Fort  Donelson  : 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  WEST  TENNESSEE,  ) 
FORT  DONELSON,  FEB.  17, 1862.     f 

General  Order,  No.  2. 

The  General  commanding  takes  great  pleasure  in  con 
gratulating  the  troops  of  this  command  for  the  triumph 
over  rebellion  gained  by  their  valor  on  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  instant.  For  four  successive 
nights,  without  shelter,  during  the  most  inclement  wea 
ther  kno'wn  in  this  latitude,  they  faced  an  enemy  in 
large  force,  in  a  position  chosen  by  himself.  Though 
strongly  fortified  by  nature,  all  the  additional  safeguards 
suggested  by  science  were  added.  Without  a  murmur 
this  was  borne,  prepared  at  all  times  to  receive  an  at 
tack,  and  with  continuous  skirmishing  by  day,  resulting 
ultimately  in  forcing  the  enemy  to  surrender  without 
conditions.  The  victory  achieved  is  not  only  great  in 
the  effect  it  will  have  in  breaking  down  rebellion,  but 
has  secured  the  greatest  number  of  prisoners  of  war  ever 
taken  in  any  battle  on  this  continent. 

Fort  Donelson  will  hereafter  be  marked  in  capitals 
on  the  map  of  our  united  country,  and  the  men  who 
fought  the  battle  will  live  in  the  memory  of  a  grateful 
people. 

By  order  of 

U.  S.  GRANT, 

Brig.-Gen.  commanding." 


56  OUR   GKEAT   CAPTAINS. 

It  was  no  part  of  General  Grant's  policy  to  rest  satis 
fied  with  this  victory.  The  enemy  whom  he  had  thus 
driven  from  one  stronghold  must  be  followed  promptly, 
and  driven  successively  from  each  one  where  they  might 
seek  shelter.  The  district  of  West  Tennessee,  now 
nominally,  must  be  very  soon  really  in  his  possession, 
and  the  rebel  army  captured  or  driven  far  towards  the 
Gulf.  Immediate  preparation  was  therefore  made  for 
an  advance.  The  gunboats  were  ordered  to  ascend  the 
Cumberland,  and  a  land  force,  consisting  of  a  division  of 
Grant's  army,  under  command  of  General  C.  F.  Smith, 
marched  along  the  west  bank  of  that  river  to  keep  them 
company. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  Clarksville,  the  most  im 
portant  depot  of  supplies  on  the  river,  was  captured 
without  a  fight,  and  supplies  sufficient  to  sustain  Grant's 
whole  Army  for  twenty  days  were  found  there.  This 
place  was  at  once  garrisoned  and  held,  while  the  gun 
boats  continued  to  ascend  the  river  to  open  the  way  for 
the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  under  command  of  General  Bueli, 
which  was  marching  from  Bowling  Green  to  occupy 
Nashville.  On  the  22d  of  February,  General  Grant, 
who  remained  for  a  time  at  Fort  Donelson  to  or 
ganize  the  troops  constantly  arriving,  and  to  send 
forward  men  and  supplies,  issued  an  order  declaring 
his  district  under  martial  law ;  and  on  the  25th,  pub 
lished  a  general  order  received  from  General  Halleck, 
prohibiting,  under  severe  penalties,  all  pillaging,  ma 
rauding,  the  destruction  of  private  property,  and  the 
stealing  and  concealment  of  slaves,  and  defining  the 
status  of  non-combatants,  and  the  rules  to  be  ob 
served  in  obtaining  forced  contributions  for  supplies 
and  subsistence. 

After  the  fall  of  Nashville,  the  gunboats   returned  to 


GENERAL   GKANT.  37 

the  Ohio  river,  and  ascended  the  Tennessee  river  as  far 
as  Florence,  Alabama.  Their  reconnoissance  demon 
strated  the  fact  that  there  were  no  considerable  bodies 
of  rebel  troops  along  the  river,  and  that  a  base  of  opera 
tions  could  be  established  near  the  southern  line  of  his 
district.  In  the  interval  which  must  necessarily  elapse 
before  this  change  could  be  effected,  he  removed  his 
headquarters  to  Fort  Henry,  and  continued  the  organi 
zation  of  the  troops  now  constantly  ascending  the  Ten 
nessee  river,  sending  small  bodies  in  every  direction  to 
scour  the  country,  who  occasionally  encountered  the 
enemy,  and,  in  one  instance  (at  Paris,  Tenn.)  met  and 
defeated  a  considerable  rebel  force,  causing  them  to  lose 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  over  one  hundred 
men. 

While  engaged  in  this  work  of  organizing  troops,  on 
the  llth  of  March,  General  Grant  was  presented  with  an 
elegant  sword  by  four  of  the  colonels  of  regiments  con 
stituting  the  garrison  of  Fort  Henry. 

The  rebel  commander-in-chief,  Albert  Sydney  John 
ston,  after  he  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  Nashville, 
concentrated  his  troops  at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  the  point 
of  junction  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  and  Memphis  and 
Charleston  railroads,  a  position  which,  from  its  connec 
tions  with  the  great  network  of  railroads  traversing  the 
Southern  States,  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  collec 
tion  of  troops  from  all  quarters,  and,  from  its  great 
natural  strength .  and  capacity  for  fortification,  could 
readily  be  made  a  most  formidable  position.  To  this 
point  were  brought,  with  the  greatest  possible  rapidity, 
all  the  rebel  troops  which  could  be  collected  from  the 
Southwest,  and  organized  under  the  supervision  of 
Generals  Johnston,  Beauregard,  Bragg,  Hardee,  and 
Polk.  Corinth  was  but  little  more  than  twenty-five 

4 


38  OUE   GBEAT   CAPTAINS. 

miles  from  Savannah,  Tennessee,  the  point  first  selected 
by  General  Grant  as  his  base  of  operations,  and  was  still 
nearer  to  Pittsburg  Landing  or  Shiloh,  on  the, west 
bank  of  the  Tennessee,  the  point  finally  selected  from 
strategic  considerations  by  Major-General  C.  F.  Smith, 
who  was  in  command  in  the  absence  of  General  Grant 
at  Fort  Henry.  General  Buell  with  the  army  of  the 
-Ohio,  which  had  been  in  the  service  longer  than  most 
of  Grant's  troops,  was  ordered  by  General  Halleck  to 
march  across  the  country  from  Nashville  and  join  Grant 
at  Pittsburg  Landing,  and,  the  roads  being  heavy,  made 
but  slow  progress. 

Meantime  the  rebel  commander,  who  had  assembled 
at  Corinth  an  army  of  full  forty-five  thousand  men, 
under  his  ablest  generals,  with  thirty  thousand  more 
under  Van  Dorn  and  Price,  coming  from  Arkansas, 
well  disciplined,  and  provided  with  all  that  was  ne 
cessary  to  its  efficiency,  had  conceived  the  plan  of 
hurling  his  forces  upon  Grant  before  Buell  could  come 
up,  and  while  Lewis  Wallace's  division  was  at  Crump's 
Landing,  some  distance  from  the  field  of  battle,  and 
thus  conquering  the  Union  army  in  detail.  The  plan 
was  well  devised,  and  came  very  near  being  successful. 
Johnston  at  first  fixed  upon  April  5th  as  the  time  for 
making  the  attack,  and  had  he  adhered  to  this  deter 
mination  he  would  very  possibly  have  succeeded ;  but, 
desirous  of  obtaining  Yan  Dorn's  and  Price's  reinforce 
ments  before  moving,  he  delayed  one  day,  in  the  hope 
that  they  would  come  up,  and  that  day's  delay  lost  him 
the  battle.  The  roads  in  that  region  were  so  heavy  that 
though  Pittsburg  Landing  was  but  twenty  miles  away, 
it  took  the  rebel  army  two  days  to  reach  it.  General 
Grant's  suspicions  had  been  aroused  by  the  movements 
of  some  of  the  rebel  reconnoitering  parties  on  the  night 


GENERAL    GRANT.  30 

of  the  second  of  April,  and  he  returned  to  the  camp 
that  night  from  Savannah,  ten  miles  away,  where  his 
headquarters  were,  and  reconnoitred  in  person. 

As  no  sign  of  battle  appeared,  he  returned  to  Sa 
vannah,  leaving  orders  to  fire  a  signal-gun  if  there  were 
any  appearances  of  an  approaching  battle.  The  Union 
army  was  surrounded  by  spies;  rebel  citizens  who,  while 
professing  to  be  non-combatants,  discovered  and  carried 
to  the  rebel  headquarters  every  position  and  movement 
of  the  Union  forces. 

The  forces  under  General  Grant's  command,  consti 
tuting  the  army  of  West  Tennessee,  were  organized  in 
five  divisions,  commanded  as  follows:  First  division, 
Major-General  John  A.  McClernand ;  second  division, 
Brigadier-General  W.  H.  L.  Wallace ;  third  division, 
Major-General  Lewis  Wallace;  fourth  division,  Briga 
dier-General  S.  A.  Hurlbut;  fifth  division,  Brigadier- 
General  W.  T.  Sherman.  Of  these  generals,  McCler 
nand,  W.  H.  S.  Wallace,  Hurlbut,  and  Sherman  were 
at  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  Lewis  Wallace  at  Crump's 
Landing,  six  miles  distant.  General  Buell's  forces,  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  were  twenty  miles  distant. 

The  troops  were  arranged  in  the  following  order : 
Prentiss's  command,  a  subdivision  of  McClernand's,  oc 
cupied  the  extreme  Union  left,  resting  on  Lick  creek,  a 
distance  of  nearly  three  miles  from  the  Tennessee  river; 
next  came  McClernand ;  then  W.  H.  L.  Wallace,  forming 
the  right,  with  Sherman  partly  in  reserve  as  a  support 
on  the  right  wing,  extending  along  Snake  creek.  Gene 
ral  Hurlbut's  division,  acted  as  the  supports  of  Prentiss 
on  the  left  wing,  and  were  also  partly  in  reserve.  The 
Union  force  that  day  in  the  battle  did  not  exceed  thirty- 
eight  thousand.  The  rebel  commander  had  thrown  a 
detachment  between  Pittsburg  and  Crump's  landings, 


4:0 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


and  thus  obstructed  Lew.  Wallace's  division,  and  com- 
pelled  them  to  make  so  extended  a  detour  that  they  were 
unable  to  take  any  part  in  the  first  day's  battle. 

The    battle    commenced  at  daybreak  of  the    6th    of 
April  (Sunday),  by  a  sudden  and  desperate  attack  on 
the  extreme  left,  Prentiss's  division,  which  was   taken 
somewhat  by  surprise,  but  fought  bravely.     The  rebel 
force  was,   however,  massed  so  heavily  upon  them,  that 
they  at  last  gave  way,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  were 
captured.     Hurrying  these  to  the  rear,  the  rebels  next 
hurled  their  forces  upon  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  and  Sher 
man.     Wallace  was   mortally  wounded,  and  his  troops 
driven   back   some   distance,    but  Sherman,   making  a 
stubborn  resistance,  held  his  position  and  repulsed  the 
enemy,  who  however  rallied  and  returned  to  the  attack, 
flinging,   meantime,  a  large  force  of  fresh  troops  upon 
McClernand's  division,  and  that  general,  though  doing 
his  utmost  to  keep  his  troops  in  line,  was  crowded  back. 
The  rebels  next  having  tried  in  vain  to  break  Sherman's 
lines,  about  two  P.M.  slackened  their  fire  on  him,  and 
threw  their  principal  force  on  General  Hurlbut's  divi 
sion,  gradually  but  surely  pressing  them  back,  till  the 
greater  part  of  the  line  was  two  and  a  half  miles  in  rear 
of  their  first  position,  though   still  a  half-mile  from  the 
river.     Sherman  meanwhile  had  taken  a  new  "line  in  a 
strong  position,   and  repulsed   all  attacks,  while  Web 
ster,   General  Grant's  chief  of    artillery,  gathering  the 
batteries  which   had   been  scattered,  and  some  of  them 
deserted,    opened  a  steady    and    destructive   fire  upon 
the  enemy,  who  were  making  desperate  efforts  to  turn 
the  Union  left,  rout  General  Hurlbut,  and  gain  posses 
sion  of  the  landing.     The  fire  of  the  artillery,   aided  by 
that  of  the   gunboats    Tyler   and   Lexington,     which, 
coming  within  range,    opened    heavily  upon  the  rebel 


GENERAL    GRANT. 


ranks,  caused  them  to  give  way  a  little,  and  General 
T    J    Wood's  division,  the  advance  of  Buell's  corps, 
coming  up  just  at  this  time,  aided  in  driving  them  back 
At  nightfall  the  rebels  rested  on  their  arms  in  what  had 
been  the  Union  camp  ;  but  the  Union  forces,  though 
sadly  shattered,  looked  forward  with  confidence  to  the 
morrow,  when  they  felt  certain   they  would  be  able  to 
drive   back   and   defeat   the  enemy.      The  rebel  corn- 
man  der-in-chief,  General  Albert  S.  Johnston,  had  been 
mortally  wounded  early  in  the  action,  and  died  bete 
evening,    and   General  Beauregard    was   now  m    < 

mand.  , 

Where,  in  this  day  of  desperate  fighting,  was  General 
Grant?     That  he  was  in  the  battle  during  the  day  was 
admitted,  and  was,  indeed,    evident  from  his    own  re 
port    though,  with  characteristic  modesty,  he  does  not 
state  when  he  reached  the  field.     But  his  enemies    and 
among  them  some  who  should  have  had  more  manhood 
than   to  have    brought  false  accusations   against   him, 
charged   that    he  was  surprised,  and  was,  indeed,  de 
feated    until  General   Buell's  coming  and  taking  com 
mand 'reversed  the  tables,    and    from   the   misfortunes 
of  the   first  day's   battle    evoked  the   triumph   of  the 
second.     It  was  also  charged  thai  he  was  unjustifiably 
absent  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day's  battle;  that  his 
place  was  with  his  troops;  that  he  did  not  arrive  till 
noon,  and  that  he  did  nothing  to  prevent  the  demorali 
zation  which  was  taking  place  among  his  raw  troops,   lo 
these  charges,  though   knowing   their  falsity,  General 
Grant  has  never  deigned  reply,  but  within  the  past  few 
weeks  we  have  had  a  refutation  of  them  from  the  man 
of  all  others  best  qualified  to  testify  to  the  truth  m  the 
case,   Major-General  Sherman.     He  states,  in  a  letter  to 
the  editor  of  the  «  United  States  Service  Magazine,"  that 

4* 


42  ODK    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

the  battle-field  was  chosen  by  the  late  lamented  Major- 
General  Charles  F.  Smith,  and  that  it  was  well  chosen ; 
that  on  any  other  the  Union  army  would  have  been  over 
whelmed.  He  further  says  that  General  Grant  was  early 
on  the  field;  that  he  visited  his  division  in  person  about 
ten  A.M.,  when  the  battle  was  raging  fiercest;  approved 
of  h%-  stubborn  resistance  to  the  enemy,  and,  in  answer* 
to  his  inquiry  concerning  cartridges,  told  him  that  he 
had  anticipated  their  want,  and  given  orders  accord 
ingly  ;  and,  remarking  that  his  presence  was  more 
needed  over  at  the  left,  rode  off  to  encourage  the 
hardly  pressed  ranks  of  McClernand's  and  Hurlbut's 
divisions. 

"About  five  P.M.,"  continues  General  Sherman,  "be 
fore  the  sun  set,  General  Grant  came  again  to  me,  and, 
after  hearing  my  report  of  matters,  explained  to  me  the 
situation  of  affairs  on  the  left,  which  were  not  as  favor 
able  ;  still,  the  enemy  had  failed  to  reach  the  landing  of 
the  boats.  We  agreed  that  the  enemy  had  expended 
the  furore  of  his  attack,  and  we  estimated  our  loss  and 
approximated  our  then  strength,  including  Lew.  Wal 
lace's  fresh  division,  expected  each  minute.  He  then 
ordered  me  to  get  all  things  ready,  and  at  daylight  the 
next  day  to  assume*  the  offensive.  That  was  before 
General  Buell  had  arrived,  but  he  was  known  to  be  near 
at  hand.  General  Buell's  troops  took  no  essential  part 
in  the  first  day's  fight,  and  Grant's  army,  though  col 
lected  together  hastily,  green  as  militia,  some  regiments 
arriving  without  cartridges  even,  and  nearly  all  hearing 
the  dread  sound  of  battle  for  the  first  time,  had  success 
fully  withstood  and  repelled  the  first  day's  terrific  onset 
of  a  superior  enemy,  well  commanded  and  well  handled. 
I  know  I  had  orders  from  General  Grant  to  assume  the 
offensive  before  I  knew  General  Buell  was  on  the  west 


GENERAL    GRANT.  43 

side  of  the  Tennessee I  understood  Grant's  forces 

were  to  advance  on  the  right  of  the  Corinth  road,  and 
Buell's  on  the  left  (this  was  on  the  7th),  and  accordingly 
at  daylight  I  advanced  my  division  by  the  flank,  the  re 
sistance  being  trivial,  up  to  the  very  spot  where  the  day 
before  the  battle  had  been  most  severe,  and  then  waited 
till  near  noon  for  Buell's  troops  to  get  up  abreast,  when 
the  entire  line  advanced  and  recovered  all  the  ground 
we  had  ever  held.  I  know  that,  with  the  exception  of 
one  or  two  severe  struggles,  the  fighting  of  April  7th 
was  easy  as  compared  with  that  of  April  6th.  I  never 
was  disposed,  nor  am  I  now,  to  question  any  thing  done 
by  General  Buell  and  his  army,  and  know  that,  ap 
proaching  our  field  of  battle  from  the  rear,  he  en 
countered  that  sickening  crowd  of  laggards  and  fugi 
tives  that  excited  his  contempt  and  that  of  his  army, 
who  never  gave  full  credit  to  those  in  the  front  line  who 
did  fight  hard,  and  who  had,  at  four  p.  M.,  checked  the 
enemy,  and  were  preparing  the  next  day  to  assume  the 
offensive." 

Thus  far  General  Sherman.  Let  us  now  resume  the 
history  of  the  battle.  General  Lew.  Wallace's  division 
had  reached  the  battle-field  on  the  evening  of  the  6th, 
too  late  to  participate  in  the  fighting  of  that  day,  but 
fresh  and  ready  for  the  severe  work  of  the  morrow. 
General  Nelson's  division  of  Buell's  army  crossed  the 
river  during  the  night,  arid  were  also  ready  to  com 
mence  fighting  at  dawn ;  but  the  remainder  of  Buell's 
army,  owing  to  a  deficiency  of  transportation  and  the 
want  of  pontoons,  did  not  cross  till  the  morning  of  the 
7th.  General  Grant  assigned  Wallace's  division  to  the 
right  and  Nelson's  to  the  left  of  his  line,  and  the  divi 
sions  which  formed  the  centre  were  those  which  had  so 
bravely  withstood  the  onset  of  the  previous  day.  The 


OUK    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


attack  on  the  7th  was  made  by  the  Union  troops, 
General  Nelson,  on  the  left,  opening  with  a  destructive 
and  galling  fire,  and  advancing  rapidly  as  the  rebels  fell 
back.  In  a  short  time  the  fighting  was  general  along 
the  whole  line,  and  though  the  rebels  maintained  their 
position  with  great  tenacity  at  some  points,  and  were 
urged  forward  by  their  leaders,  they  at  length  began  to 
break,  and,  when  the  remainder  of  Buell's  troops  came 
up  towards  noon,  they  gave  evidence  of  thorough  de 
feat,  and,  after  an  ineffective  struggle,  fled,  abandon 
ing  their  artillery  and  small-arms,  about  five  o'clock, 
P.  M.  The  battle  had  been  the  most  sanguinary  of  the 
war  up  to  that  time.  Of  the  Union  troops,  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  fourteen  were  slain,  seven  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  twenty-one  were  wounded,  and 
three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-three  were 
missing,  the  greater  part  of  them  prisoners,  making  a 
total  of  thirteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  hors  de  combat.  The  rebel  losses,  as  stated  by 
Pollard,  were,  killed,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  ;  wounded,  eight  thousand  and  twelve  ; 
missing,  nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  ;  making  an  ag 
gregate  of  ten  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-nine. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  amount  of  miss 
ing,  which  includes  the  prisoners  not  wounded,  is  greatly 
understated,  and  from  this  statement  it  appears  that  the 
number  of  their  killed  and  wounded  was  considerably 
in  excess  of  that  of  the  Union  troops.  The  loss  of 
cannon  by  the  Union  troops  on  the  sixth  was  nearly 
or  quite  balanced  by  the  loss  of  the  rebels  on  the 
seventh.  General  Grant  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 
ankle  in  this  battle.  The  rebel  loss  of  officers  in  high 
command  had  been  very  severe.  .Besides  their  com- 
mander-in-chief,  General  A.  S.  Johnston,  General  Glad- 


GENERAL  GKANT.  45 

den  of  South  Carolina,  General  G.  M.  Johnston,  pseudo 
governor  of  Kentucky,  and  Colonels  Adams,  Kitt  Wil 
liams,  and  Blythe  were  killed ;  and  Generals  Breckin- 
ridge,  Hardee,  Cheatham,  Johnson,  and  Bowen  were 
wounded.  General  Grant's  troops  were  too  completely 
exhausted  to  make  pursuit  that  night,  and  General  Buel 
did  not  order  any  of  his  force,  which  was  less  wearied, 
to  that  duty.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  General  Grant 
ordered  Sherman  to  follow  the  retreating  rebel  force. 
He  did  so,  and  proceeding  along  the  Corinth  road,  came 
upon  the  rebel  cavalry,  whom  he  drove  from  the  field 
after  a  short  skirmish,  and,  pressing  forward,  entered 
and  destroyed  the  rebel  camp  and  considerable  quan 
tities  of  ammunition.  Proceeding  onward,  he  found 
abundant  evidences  of  a  hasty  and  disorderly  retreat,  in 
the  abandoned  wagons,  ambulances,  and  limber-boxes 
which  strewed  the  road. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th,  General  Beauregard  sent  by 
flag  of  truce  a  note  to  General  Grant,  asking  permission 
to  send  a  mounted  party  to  the  battlefield  to  bury  the 
dead,  and  that  gentlemen  wishing  to  remove  the  re 
mains  of  their  sons  and  friends  might  accompany  the 
party.  The  next  morning  General  Grant  replied  that, 
owing  to  the  warmth  of  the  weather,  he  had  made  heavy 
details  of  forces  to  bury  the  dead  of  both  parties,  and 
that  it  had  been  accomplished.  He  therefore  declined  to 
permit  the  approach  of  any  party  of  the  enemy  to  the 
battle-field. 

General  Halleck,  the  commander  of  the  Mississippi 
department,  on  hearing  of  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Land 
ing,  hastened  at  once  to  the  field  to  take  command  in 
person,  and  on  the  13th  of  April  issued  a  general  order 
expressive  of  his  thanks  to  General  Grant  and  General 
Buell,  and  the  officers  and  men  under  their  charge,  for 


46  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

the  results  of  the  great  battle.     He  also  collected  at  the 
camp  at  Pittsburg  Landing  all  the  troops  which  could 
be  spared  from  the  other  posts  of  the  department,  and 
reorganized  the  army  in  sixteen  divisions,  eight  of  which 
formed  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  General  Grant, 
four  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  under  General  Buell,  and  four 
the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  under  General  John  Pope. 
On  the  30th  of  April  this  grand  army  moved  forward 
to  drive  the  rebels  from  their  strongly  fortified  position 
at  Corinth.     As  they  approached  the  stronghold  several 
sharp    actions    occurred   between  them   and  the  rebels, 
which  however  resulted,  in  each  instance,  in  the  repulse 
of  the  latter.     On  the  17th  of  May  the  Union  army  com 
menced  a  series  of  regular  approaches  for  the  reduction 
of  the  city.     On  the  19th,  General  Grant  urged  General 
Halleck   to    allow    him    with    his    army  to  assault   the 
enemy's  works,  as  he  was  satisfied  that  the  rebel  army 
could  be   captured  by  a  vigorous  and  concerted  attack. 
General  Halleck  refused,  preferring  the  method  of  slow 
approaches.     General  Grant  still  urged  with  great  im 
portunity,    and  a  quarrel  threatened  between  the  two 
generals,  the  only  one  in  Grant's  military  career.      Hal 
leck,  however,  adhered  to  his  plan,  and,    in  spite  of  fre 
quent   sallies  on  the  part  of  the  enemy,    the   parallels 
were   drawn  closer  and  closer,  and  on  the  night  of  the 
28th  of  May,  Generals  Beauregard  and  Bragg,  with  their 
troops,  evacuated  Corinth,  blowing  up  their  caissons  and 
magazines,  and,   moving  southward    along  the   Mobile 
and  Ohio  railroad,  sought  a  safer  position.      They  were 
pursued  by  General  Pope,  but  without  any  considerable 
result,  though  their  flight  was  somewhat  accelerated,  and 
by  the  end  of  June  there  was  no  rebel  force  within  fifty 
miles  of  Corinth.    Meantime,  New  Orleans  and  the  forts 
below  it  had  been  surrendered  to  the  Union  forces  under 


GENERAL    GRANT.  47 

Farragut  and  Butler,  and  Memphis  had  been  captured 
by  the  Mississippi  flotilla  under  Commodore  Davis.  On 
the  17th  of  July,  General  Halleck  was  summoned  to 
Washington  to  take  the  position  of  general-in-chief 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  the  new  de 
partment  of  West  Tennessee  created,  embracing  North 
ern  Mississippi,  West  Tennessee,  Western  Kentucky, 
and  Southern  Illinois,  and  General  Grant  placed  in  com 
mand  of  it.  General  Curtis  had  succeeded  General 
Pope  in  command  of  the  Arrny  of  the  Mississippi,  now 
named  the  department  of  Arkansas,  and  General  Buell 
still  commanded  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  which  had  for 
its  department  the  region  inclosed  by  the  Tennessee 
river.  General  Grant  made  his  headquarters  for  a  time 
at  Memphis,  which,  with  its  swarms  of  crafty  secession 
ists,  speculators,  gamblers,  and  Jewish  traders,  desperate 
for  gain,  bid  fair  to  be  of  more  value  to  the  rebels,  when 
in  possession  of  the  Unionists,  than  when  held  by  the 
rebels  themselves,  inasmuch  as  every  thing  in  the  way  of 
supplies,  which  the  enemy  needed,  was  smuggled  through 
the  lines  to  them  on  one  pretence  or  another.  This  il 
licit  traffic  General  Grant  broke  up  with  a  strong  hand, 
and  crushed  the  disloyal  operators  so  eifectually  that  the 
unscrupulous  traitors  and  spies  were  almost  beside  them 
selves  with  rage. 

Meantime,  General  Bragg  was  moving  with  all  speed 
through  Tennessee  to  Kentucky,  and  General  Buell  fol. 
lowing,  but  not  overtaking  him  ;  and  when  he  doubled 
upon  his  track  and  again  faced  southward,  Buell  still 
pursued,  and,  after  fighting  an  indecisive  battle  at 
Perryville,  suffered  him  to  make  good  his  escape,  with 
his  plunder,  into  Tennessee  again.  This  expedition  of 
General  Bragg  was  only  one  portion  of  a  combined 
movement  of  the  rebels,  having  for  its  object  the  ex- 


4:8  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

pulsion  of  the  Union  armies  from  Northern  Mississippi, 
West  Tennessee,  and  West  Kentucky,  and  the  regain 
ing  of  the  territory  they  had  lost  within  the  previous 
seven  or  eight  months.  That  portion  of  the  programme 
having  for  its  object  the  expulsion  of  Grant  from  his 
department  was  intrusted  to  Generals  Van  Dorn,  Price, 
and  Lovell.  The  first  movement  made  by  the  rebels  to* 
this  end  was  the  capture  of  luka,  a  Union  post  about 
twenty  miles  from  Corinth,  and  the  subsequent  battle  of 
luka,  in  which  Price  attacked  General  Rosecrans,  then 
one  of  Grant's  lieutenants.  The  battle  was  a  very  severe 
one,  but  Price  was  severely  beaten  and  compelled  to 
evacuate  the  town.  He  retreated  eastward  instead  of 
northward,  as  Grant  had  expected,  and  managed  to  join 
Van  Dorn  and  Lovell  in  Tippah  county,  Mississippi, 
when  the  three,  with  a  formidable  force,  determined  to 
repossess  themselves  of  Corinth,  and  thus  compel  Grant 
to  loosen  his  hold  on  West  Tennessee.  General  Grant 
comprehended  their  plans,  and  was  ready  to  thwart 
them.  It  was  at  first  somewhat  uncertain  whether  they 
would  attempt  to  seize  Corinth,  where  Rosecrans  was 
now  stationed,  or  Bolivar,  which  was  held  by  General 
Ord,  another  of  Grant's  lieutenants,  with  a  considerable 
force,  or  Jackson,  where  General  Grant  had  his  own  head 
quarters  ;  their  position  near  Pocahontas,  on  the  Mem 
phis  and  Charleston  railroad,  threatening  all  these  about 
equally.  This  will  be  evident  from  a  glance  at  the  map, 
Jackson  being  the  apex  of  an  equilateral  triangle  formed 
by  the  junction  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
and  Jackson  railroads  at  Jackson,  and  their  several  cross 
ings  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad  at  Lagrange 
and  Corinth.  Corinth  formed  another  angle  of  the  tri 
angle,  and  Pocahontas  was  nearly  midway  between  that 
and  Lagrange,  and  Bolivar  about  half-way  between  La- 


GENERAL    GRANT.  49 

grange  and  Jackson.  But  Grant  had  so  arranged  his 
forces  and  timed  his  movements,  that  whichever  point 
might  be  attacked,  a  supporting  force  should  be  ready  to 
strike  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  or  to  cut  off  his  escape. 
General  Hurlbut  had  been  stationed  between  Pocahontas 
and  Lagrange,  and  when  it  became  evident  that  Corinth 
was  the  point  aimed  at  by  the  enemy,  he  put  himself  in 
position  to  intercept  his  retreat  along  the  Hatchie  river, 
and  General  Ord  was  directed  to  move  to  his  support. 
We  need  not  describe  in  detail  the  battle  of  Corinth ; 
suffice  it  to  say  that  General  Rosecrans  defeated  the 
combined  rebel  force  after  a  severe  battle  on  the  3d  and 
4th  of  October,  and  that  the  flying  rebels  were  pursued 
arid  terribly  punished  by  Hurlbut  and  Ord,  and  by 
General  McPherson,  whom  he  had  detached  from  his 
immediate  command  for  the  purpose.  A  more  thorough 
defeat  and  rout  had  not,  up  to  that  time,  occurred  during 
the  war,  nor  a  more  decided  and  zealous  pursuit.  On 
the  25th  of  October,  another  change  was  made  in  the 
boundaries  of  the  department  of  Tennessee.  General 
Rosecrans  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  old  de 
partment  of  the  Ohio— now  somewhat  changed  in 
boundary,  and  renamed  the  department  of  the  Cumber 
land — in  place  of  General  Buell,  relieved  ;  and  the  de 
partment  of  Tennessee  was  extended  down  the  Missis 
sippi  to  Vicksburg.  This  new  department  General 
Grant  divided  into  four  districts,  and  assigned  com 
manders  to  each,  viz.:  1st.  The  district  of  Memphis, 
General  W.  T.  Sherman,  commander ;  2d.  The  district 
of  Jackson,  General  S.  A.  Hurlbut,  commander;  3d.  The 
district  of  Corinth,  Brigadier-General  C.  S.  Hamilton, 
commander ;  4th.  The  district  of  Columbus,  Brigadier- 
General  T.  A.  Davies,  commander. 
There  was  still  much  trouble  in  regard  to  trade  at 


50  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

Memphis,  and  other  points  in  his  department.  While 
some  of  those  engaged  in  trade  were  men  of  high  and 
honorable  character,  too  many  were  unscrupulous  specu 
lators,  who  were  ready,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  to  smuggle 
through  the  lines  weapons,  ammunition,  food,  medicines, 
and  other  articles  contraband  of  war,  to  the  rebels. 
General  Grant  tried  the  most  stringent  rules  and  the 
most  critical  examination,  but  the  evil  still  continued, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  expel  the  Jews,  who  had  been 
the  principal  offenders,  from  the  department.  Amid  the 
almost  universal  corruption  which  prevailed  at  this 
period — very  many  officers  in  the  army  secretly  engaging 
in  cotton  speculations,  and  neglecting  their  duty  to  ac 
quire  wealth  in  this  way — General  Grant's  reputation  for 
strict  integrity,  and  avoidance  of  even  the  appearance 
of  evil,  was  never  questioned.  He  was  remarkably  sen 
sitive  to  any  thing  which  might  seem  to  implicate  his  in 
tegrity  in  these  matters.  A  friend,  himself  a  man  of  un 
impeachable  honor,  proposed  to  him,  at  this  time,  that 
he  should  designate  Union  men  of  high  character  to 
conduct  the  necessary  trade.  "No!"  was  his  prompt 
reply,  "  I  will  do  no  such  thing ;  for,  if  I  did,  it  would 
be  stated  within  a  week,  on  the  highest  authority,  that  I 
was  a  partner  with  every  man  I  appointed  ;  and  if  any 
of  them  were  guilty  of  misconduct,  the  blame  and  guilt 
would  fall  on  my  shoulders." 

Vicksburg  was  now  the  goal  of  Grant's  hopes ;  to 
capture  that  stronghold,  the  great  object  of  his  ambition. 
It  was,  indeed,  a  prize  worth  contending  for.  It  was  the 
key  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi ;  strong  by 
nature,  in  its  terraced  bluffs  rising  high  over  the  Mis 
sissippi,  it  had  been  made  tenfold  stronger  by  the  en 
gineer's  art,  and  was  believed  by  the  rebels  to  be 
utterly  impregnable.  From  the  very  commencement 


GENERAL    GRANT.  51 

of  the  war  no  pains  had  been  spared  in  fortifying  it,  and 
when  the  loss  of  the  forts  below  New  Orleans  and  of 
Island  No.  Ten,  and  Memphis,  had  convinced  the  rebels 
that  this  fortress  must  be  their  main  dependence  in 
closing  the  river  navigation,  they  redoubled  their  efforts 
to  make  it  a  perfect  Gibraltar.  Not  simply  the  city  it 
self  was  surrounded  with  earthworks — fort,  bastion, 
redan,  and  rifle-pits — but  Haines',  Chickasaw,  and  Wal 
nut  bluffs,  to  the  northwest,  north,  and  northeast  of  the 
city,  and  Warrenton,  commanding  the  lower  approaches 
to  it,  were  also  strongly  fortified,  and  iron-clad  vessels 
of  formidable  character  were  built  on  the  Yazoo  river 
above,  out  of  harm's  way,  to  descend  at  the  proper  time 
and  carry  destruction  among  the  gunboats  of  the  Union 
squadron.  It  had  been  assailed  before  its  defences  were 
quite  perfected,  in  the  summer  of  1862,  by  Admiral 
Farragut's  squadron,  but  a  long  bombardment  had 
proved  ineffectual,  so  lofty  were  its  bluffs,  and  so  for 
midable  at  that  time  its  batteries.  An  attempt  during 
the  same  summer,  by  General  Williams  (who  was  killed 
in  August  of  that  year  at  Baton  Rouge),  to  turn  the  cur 
rent  of  the  Mississippi  through  a  canal  across  the  penin 
sula  formed  by  the  bend  of  the  Mississippi  in  front  of 
Vicksburg,  had  proved  a  failure.  General  Grant  was 
well  aware  how  formidable  was  the  enterprise  he  was 
about  to  undertake,  and  he  made  all  possible  prepara 
tion  for  it.  The  troops  of  the  levy  of  July  and  August, 
1862,  were  rapidly  joining  the  army  and  rendering  its 
numbers  large,  far  beyond  any  former  precedent.  The 
supplies  of  food,  ammunition,  arnis,  clothing,  &c.,  were 
also  collected  in  vast  quantities  at  suitable  depots,  for 
distribution  to  the  forces  of  each  district.  Early  in  De 
cember,  General  Grant  began  to  move  his  troops  down 
the  Mississippi  Central  railroad,  for  the  purpose  of  a 


52  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

flank  movement  upon  Vicksburg,  to  be  executed  in  con 
cert  with  an  attack  upon  the  north  and  northwest  front 
of  the  city,  by  a  force  under  General  Sherman  descend 
ing  the  river  from  Memphis.  About  the  15th  of  De 
cember,  General  Grant's  headquarters  were  at  Oxford, 
Mississippi,  while  his  principal  depot  of  supplies  was  at 
Holly  Springs,  thirty  miles  above,  guarded  by  a  suffi 
cient  garrison  under  a  Colonel  Murphy.  A  small  rebel 
force,  by  a  detour  to  the  east,  managed  to  make  a  dash 
upon  Holly  Springs  on  the  20th  of  December,  but  might_ 
easily  have  been  driven  off  by  the  garrison,  whose  com 
mander  had  been  apprized  of  the  attack  by  General 
Grant  as  soon  as  possible,  and  ordered  to  hold  his 
ground  and  reinforcements  should  be  sent  to  him. 
Colonel  Murphy,  however,  was  either  a  coward  or 
traitor,  and  made  but  slight  resistance,  suffering  the 
vast  accumulation  of  supplies  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  rebels,  who  plundered  and  destroyed  them,  and 
then  made  all  haste  to  escape.  This  mishap  deranged 
General  Grant's  plaus,  compelling  him  to  fall  back  to 
Holly  Springs  and  order  forward  other  supplies,  and 
thus  preventing  him  from  making  a  simultaneous  attack 
with  General  Sherman  upon  Vicksburg.  ISTor  was  he 
able  to  apprize  General  Sherman  of  the  cause  of  his 
failure.  Sherman  went  forward,  made  the  attack  upon 
Yicksburg,  but,  after  a  three  days'  struggle,  was  com 
pelled  to  withdraw  his  troops,  defeated  but  not  dispirited 
at  their  want  of  success.  Having  renewed  his  stock  of 
supplies,  and  the  time  for  success  in  a  movement  south 
ward,  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  Central  railroad,  having 
passed,  General  Grant  next  descended  the  Mississippi 
to  Young's  Point,  Louisiana,  a  short  distance  above 
Vicksburg,  where  he  devoted  his  whole  attention  to 
solving  the  problem  of  capturing  the  stronghold  which 


GENERAL    GRANT.  53 

frowned  so  loftily  upon  the  Mississippi.  The  problem 
proved  a  knotty  one.  An  assault  on  the  water-front  was 
impossible,  and  the  heavy  and  repeated  bombardments 
of  the  squadron,  though  seemingly  sufficient  to  reduce 
any  known  fortress,  made  little  impression  upon  this. 
The  approaches  by  way  of  Chickasaw  bluffs,  strong 
enough  in  December  to  repulse  Sherman's  army,  had 
been  fortified  since  that  time,  until  they  left  no  hope 
of  success  in  that  direction.  No  siege  was  possible, 
because,  the  rear  being  open,  supplies  and  men  could 
be  thrown  in  till  the  besieged  could  become  the  of 
fensive  party.  There  remained  three  alternatives,  all 
attended  with  difficulty,  and  none  giving  very  certain 
promise  of  success.  These  were  the  renewal  of  the 
canal  project  under  more  favorable  auspices,  with  a  view 
to  rendering  the  position  of  Vicksburg  worthless  in  a 
military  point  of  view,  and  opening  a  new  route  for  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  through  the  canal ;  the  ap 
proach  to  the  city  from  the  north  and  northeast  by  way 
of  the  Yazoo  river,  which  at  several  points  above  com 
municated  more  or  less  directly  with  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  passing  of  a  land  arid  naval  force  below  Vicksburg, 
and  attacking  the  fortress  from  the«south. 

That  dogged  pertinacity  which,  when  a  school-boy,  led 
Grant  never  to  give  up  till  he  had  mastered  a  difficult 
problem,  an  heir-loom,  perhaps,  of  his  Scotch  ancestry, 
now  caused  him  to  adhere  to  his  purpose,  hopeless  as  it 
seemed  to  the  rebels,  and  indeed  to  our  own  Govern 
ment,  which  at  first  seemed  hardly  willing  to  brook  the 
delay.  The  canal  was  first  tried,  but  owing  to  a  sudden 
flood  in  the  Mississippi,  which  broke  the  dam  and  over 
flowed  the  adjacent  country,  it  was  abandoned.  Attempts 
were  next  made  to  enter  the  Yazoo  by  the  old  Yazoo  pass, 
and  subsequently  by  a  more  circuitous  route,  through 

5* 


54r  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

Steel's  bayou,  Black  bayou,  Duck  creek,  Deer  creek, 
Rolling  fork,  and  Sunflower  river ;  but  neither  of  these, 
though  accomplishing  much  as  raids  into  the  enemy's 
country,  proved  successful  in  opening  the  way  for  an  at 
tack  upon  the  city  of  Vicksburg.  There  remained,  then, 
the  last  alternative  of  bringing  his  troops,  with  their 
supplies,  to  some  point  below  Yicksburg,  and  thence  at 
tacking  the  fortress  from  below.  How  to  do  this  was  a 
serious  question.  From  Vicksburg  to  Port  Hudson,  a 
distance  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-two  miles,  every 
commanding  bluff  was  fortified,  and  the  batteries  and 
earthworks  at  Port  Hudson,  Natchez,  Grand  Gulf,  etc., 
were  very  formidable.  Admiral  Farragut  had,  indeed, 
run  past  the  Port  Hudson  batteries,  but  had  lost  a  ship- 
of-war  in  doing  so ;  and  there  was  no  possibility  of  bring 
ing  troops  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Vicksburg  from 
New  Orleans.  To  run  the  batteries  in  front  of  Vicks 
burg,  with  transports  loaded  with  troops,  was  impossible ; 
and  to  lead  them  through  the  swamps  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  with  their  trains,  at  this  time  of  the  year 
(February  and  March),  equally  so.  By  opening  an  old 
channel  of  the  Mississippi,  into  Lake  Providence,  and 
thence  passing  down  the  Tensas,  and  through  a  bayou 
discharging  into  the  Mississippi  some  distance  below 
Grand  Gulf,  it  might  be  possible  to  send  down  some 
troops  and  supplies ;  but  the  work  would  necessarily  be 
slow,  as  the  route  was  tortuous,  and  only  practicable  for 
small  vessels  of  light  draft.  Little  as  it  promised,  this 
route  was  tried,  and  a  moderate  amount  of  supplies  for 
warded.  But  it  was  necessary  that  a  part  of  the  gun 
boat  squadron  should  be  below  Vicksburg,  as  well  as 
transports  to  bring  the  troops  and  stores  across  the  river, 
and  to  engage  the  batteries  at  Grand  Gulf.  Accordingly, 
after  conference  with  Admirals  Farragut  and  Porter,  it 


GENERAL  GRANT. 

was  determined  to  send  a  part  of  the  gunboats,  and  six- 
teen  or  eighteen  transports,  laden  with  forage  and  sup 
plies,  past  the  batteries,  in   two  divisions,  on  different 
nights      This  was  accomplished  with  only  the  loss  of  two 
trLports,  though  under  a  most  terrific  fire  continued 
for  hours,  and  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  acts  of  the  war. 
Meantime  the  roads  having  improved,  and  the  worst 
portions  of  them  being  corduroyed,  General  Grant  com 
menced  marching  his  troops  by  land,  through  the  coun 
try  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps, 
General  McClernand's,  taking  the  lead,  and  the  Seven 
teenth,  General   McPherson's,  following;  while  the  I 
teenth,  General  Shemran's,  and  a  part  of  the  Sixteenth, 
were  left  to  take  care  of  the  communications  and  supplies, 
and  to  deceive  the  rebels  as  to  the  intentions  of  the  com- 
manding  general.     This  march,  which  it  was  expected 
would  terminate  at  New  Carthage,  thirty-five  miles  be 
low  Milliken's  bend,  the  point  of  departure,  was,  from 
the  condition  of  the  roads,  the  breaking  of  the  levee,  etc, 
extended  to  Hard  Times,  Louisiana,  a  distance  of  seventy 
miles  and  over  roads  which  almost  any  other  general 
would  have  pronounced  impassable.    The  movement  com 
menced  March  29th,  and  occupied  thirty  days. 

At  first  the  attempt  was  made  to  land  the  troops  neai 
Grand'Gnlf,  and  the  squadon  engaged  the  batteries  there 
with  the  intention  of  carrying  the  position,  and  thus  af 
fording  a  base  of  operations.     But  the  resistance  was  too 
stubborn  to  be  overcome  by  the  gunboats,  and,  after  a 
fight  of  five  hours  and  a  half,  the  admiral  (Porter)  or 
dered  their  withdrawal.       During  the  night   following 
the  squadron  and  transports  ran  past  the  batteries,  an- 
the  next  morning  commenced  ferrying  over  the  troops 
and  landing  them  at  Bruinsburg,  ten  miles  below.  March 
ing  rapidly  from  this  point  northeastward   towards  F 


56  OUK   GEE  AT   CAPTAINS. 

Gibson,  the  thirteenth  and  seventeenth  corps  encountered 
a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy,  whom  they  defeated 
after  a  sharp  battle,  and  moved  on  to  and  across  Bayou 
Pierre.  The  next  day  it  was  ascertained  that  Grand 
Gulf,  which  had  been  flanked  by  this  movement,  had 
been  evacuated,  and  General  Grant  repaired  thither 
with  a  small  escort,  and  made  arrangements  to  make 
it  his  base  of  supplies  for  a  time.  These  arrangements 
occupied  nearly  a  week.  By  his  orders,  as  nearly  as  pos 
sible  simultaneously  with  the  landing  of  the  two  corps 
at  Bruinsburg,  General  Sherman  had  made  a  strong  de 
monstration  towards  Haines'  Bluff  and  the  Yazoo,  and 
had  thus  attracted  the  attention  of  the  rebels  towards 
that  quarter,  where  they  believed  the  entire  Union 
army  were  concentrated,  and  prevented  them  from  op 
posing  their  landing  below. 

This  being  accomplished,  Sherman's  troops  made  all 
speed  in  marching  to  the  rendezvous  on  the  river,  where 
the  transports  were  in  waiting  to  take  them  over  to 
Grand  Gulf. 

Before  leaving  Young's  Point,  General  Grant  had  also 
ordered  an  expedition  by  a  competent  cavalry  force, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel,  now  General  Benj.  H. 
Grierson,  to  start  from  Lagrange,  at  the  junction^of  the 
Mississippi  Central  and  Memphis  and  Charleston  rail 
roads,  to  follow  the  lines  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Central  railroads,  and  destroy  as  much  of 
these,  and  the  Meridian  and  Jackson  railroad,  as  pos 
sible, — capturing  and  destroying  also  all  stores,  ammuni 
tion,  locomotives,  and  railroad  cars  possible,  in  their 
route.  This  expedition  was  thoroughly  successful,  and 
reached  Baton  Rouge  on  the  1st  of  May,  at  the  time 
Grant  was  fighting  the  battle  of  Port  Gibson.  Other 
raids  were  ordered  about  the  same  time  from  Middle 


GENERAL  GRANT. 


Tennessee,  which  aided  in  breaking  up  the  railroad  com 
munications  and  frustrating  the  plans  of  the  rebels. 

Our  space  does  not  allow  us  to  go  into  details  of  the 
subsequent  masterly  movements  by  which,  while  appa 
rently  threatening   an  immediate  attack  on  Vicksburg 
from  the  south,  the  garrison  there,  under  the  command 
of  General   Pemberton,  were  prevented  from  forming  a 
function  with  General  J.  E.  Johnston's  troops,  then  in 
the  vicinity  of  Jackson,   nor  of  the  battle  of  Raymond, 
the  capture  of  Jackson,  and  the  destruction  of  the  prop 
erty  and  manufactories  of  the   rebel  Government  there; 
the  rapid  march  westward,  the  severe  battles  of  Cham- 
pion's  hill  and  of  Black  River  bridge,  and  the  eminently 
skilful    management    of   the  corps   of    Generals   Sher 
man   and    McPherson.     Suffice  it  to    say  that  General 
Grant  interposed  his  army  between  the  forces  of  John-, 
ston    and    Pemberton,    drove   the   former  broken  and 
routed  northward,  and  compelled  the  latter  to  put  him 
self  arid  his  defeated  army  as  soon  as  possible  within  the 
defences  of  Vicksburg;  and  on  the  18th  the  Union  army 
sat  down  before  Vicksburg,  having  completely  invested 
it  on  the  land  side  and  opened  communication  with  their 
squadron  and  transports  by  way  of  Walnut  bluffs,  above 
the  river.     On  the  19th   of  May,  and  again  on  the  22d, 
General  Grant  ordered  assaults  upon  the  beleaguered  city, 
neither  of  which  were  successful,  except  in  gaming  some 
ground    and    expediting    the     subsequent    regular    ap 
proaches.       The    army  now  became    satisfied    that  the 
stronghold    could    only   be    captured   by   a   systematic 
siege    and  General  Grant  accordingly  took  all  precau 
tions  to  make  that  siege  effective,  and  to  prevent  the 
rebel  General  Johnston  from  approaching  with  sufficient 
force  to  raise  the  si  oge.      Day  by  day  the  parallels  were 
brought  nearer  and  nearer,  and  finally  came  so  near  that 


58  OUR   GKKAT   CAPTAINS. 

the  rebels  could  not  use  their  cannon,  while  the  Union 
artillery  from  the  adjacent  hills,  and  from  the  squadron, 
constantly  showered  their  iron  hail  upon  the  devoted 
city.  The  inhabitants  and  the  rebel  army  dug  caves  in 
the  bluffs,  and  endeavored  to  shelter  themselves  from 
the  fiery  storm,  but  these  were  often  penetrated  by  the 
shells  from  the  batteries,  or  blown  up  in  the  explosion  of 
the  forts.  At  length,  on  the  third  of  July,  General 
Grant  was  prepared  to  order  an  assault,  which  could 
not  have  failed  of  success,  when  overtures  were  made 
for  a  surrender,  and  the  city  was  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  Union  army  on  the  4th  of  July,  1863. 

It  is  stated  that  at  the  interview  between  General 
Grant  and  General  Pemberton,  after  shaking  hands, 
and  a  short  silence,  General  Pemberton  said : 

"General  Grant,  I  meet  you  in  order  to  arrange  terms 
for  the  capitulation  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg  and  its  gar 
rison.  What  terms  do  you  demand  ?" 

"  Unconditional  surrender,"  replied  General  Grant. 

"  Unconditional  surrender !"  said  Pemberton.  "  Never, 
so  long  as  I  have  a  man  left  me  !  I  will  fight  rather." 

"  Then,  sir,  you  can  continue  the  defence"  replied 
Grant.  "  My  army  has  never  been  in  a  better  condition 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  siege." 

During  this  conversation,  General  Pemberton  was 
greatly  agitated,  trembling  with  emotion  from  head  to 
foot,  while  Grant  was  as  calm,  and  imperturbable  as  a 
May  morning.  After  a  somewhat  protracted  interview, 
during  which  General  Grant,  in  consideration  of  the  cour 
age  and  tenacity  of  the  garrison,  explained  the  terms 
he  was  disposed  to  allow  to  them  on  their  uncondi 
tional  surrender,  the  two  generals  separated,  an  armis 
tice  having  been  declared  till  morning,  when  the  ques 
tion  of  surrendei  was  to  be  finally  determined.  The 


GENERAL   GRANT. 

same  evening  General  Grant  transmitted  to  General 
Pemberton,  in  writing,  the  propositions  he  had  made 
during  the  afternoon  for  the  disposal  of  the  garrison, 
should  they  surrender.  These  terms  were  very  liberal 
far  more  so  than  those  usually  acceded  to  a  conquer 

garrison. 

The  rebel  loss  in  this  campaign  had  been  very  great, 
larger  than  has  often  been  experienced  in  the  campaigns 
of  modern  times,  and  utterly  without  precedent  in  the 
previous  history  of  this  continent.      The  number  of  pris 
oners  captured  by  the  Union  troops,  from   the  landing 
at  Bruinsburg  to,  and  including  the  surrender  of  Vicks- 
burg    was  34,620,  including  one    lieutenant-general  and 
nineteen  major  and  brigadier-generals;  and  11,800  men 
were   killed,   wounded,   or  deserters.     There  were  also 
among   the   spoils   of  the   campaign  two  hundred   and 
eleven  field-pieces,  ninety  siege-guns,  and  45,000  small- 
arms      The   Union   losses   had   been    943  killed,  7,09 
wounded,  and  537  missing,  making  a  total  of  casualties 
of  8,575,  and  of  the  wounded  nearly  one-half  return 
to  duty  within  a  month. 

Having  disposed  of  his  prisoners  at  Vicksburg,  General 
Grant  dispatched  General    Sherman  with  an   adequate 
force  to  Jackson  to  defeat  and  break  up  Johnston's  army 
and  destroy  the  rebel  stores  collected  there,    in   1 
which  enterprises  he  was  successful. 

Durino-  the  long  period  of  two  and  a  quarter  years 
since  he  had  entered  the  army,  General  Grant  had  never 
sought  or  received  a  day's  furlough.  But  after  this  great 
victory,  and  while  the  thanks  of  the  President,  the 
Cabinet,  Congress,  and  the  people,  were  lavished  upon 
him  without  stint,  he  sought  for  a  few  days'  rest  with 
his  family,  and  received  it.  His  stay  with  them  was 
brief  and  he  returned  to  his  duties,  descending  the 


60  OUK    GREAT   CAPTAINS 

Mississippi — now,  thanks  to  his  skilful  generalship,  open 
to  the  navigation  of  all  nations  from  its  mouth  to  the 
falls  of  St.  Anthony — to  New  Orleans,  to  confer  with 
General  Banks  relative  to  the  operations  of  the  au 
tumn.  While  here,  on  the  4th  of  September,  he  was 
seriously  injured  by  being  thrown  from  his  horse  while 
reviewing  the  troops  of  General  Banks'  department. 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  the  Government  to  place 
him  in  command  of  all  the  troops  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
and  east  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  resumption  of  active 
warfare  early  in  September,  but  this  accident  unfortu 
nately  postponed  that  appointment.  These  troops  were 
at  this  time  comprised  in  three  distinct  armies — the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  under  the  command  of  General  Rose- 
crans,  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  General  Sher 
man,  and  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  under  General  Burn- 
side.  The  interest  of  the  whole  country  was  now  con 
centrating  on  the  movements  of  the  first  of  these,  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  General  Rosecrans,  an  able 
officer,  had  fought  a  great  battle  at  Stone  river,  near 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  with 
the  rebel  General  Bragg,  and  had  compelled  that  general 
to  retreat  to  Tullahoma;  but  both  armies  had  maintained 
a  position  of  observation  from  that  period  until  the  last 
of  June,  when  Rosecrans  made  a  movement  forward,  and, 
threatening  to  flank  Bragg,  caused  him  to  evacuate  Tul 
lahoma  and  retreat  upon  Chattanooga,  a  strong  position, 
and  one  which  it  was  very  important  to  the  United 
States  Government  to  have  in  its  possession,  as  it  was 
the  key  to  East  Tennessee,  which,  though  loyal,  had  long 
been  HI  the  possession  of  the  rebels.  General  Rosecrans 
pursued  slowly  but  steadily,  and  by  an  admirable  flank 
movement  compelled  Bragg  to  march  out  of  Chattanooga 
to  give  him  battle,  aftd  occupied  that  important  post 


GP:NERAL  GRANT. 


meanwhile  with  a  small  garrison.     At  this  critical  junc 
ture,    Bragg  was  largely  reinforced  from  the  Army  of 
Virginia,  and  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  fought  on 
the  19th  and  20th  of  September,  and  the  result  was  in 
decisive,  since  the  Union  army,  though  driven  back  and 
losing  heavily,  still  occupied  Chattanooga,  the  goal  for 
which  they  fought,  and  had  inflicted  a  loss  equal  to  or 
greater  than  their  own  upon  the  enemy.     The  condition 
of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was,    nevertheless,  pre 
carious  for  the  next  two  months,  and  that  of  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,   which    occupied  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  hardly 
less  so.     The  rebels  held  possession  of  Lookout  Mountain 
and  Mission  Ridge,  and  thus  were  able  to  lay  an^embargo 
upon  both  railroad  and  river  communication  with  Nash 
ville  and  Louisville,  the  real  bases  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland,  and  had  moreover  captured  a  large  train 
of  supplies.     Rations  and  forage  could  only  be  brought 
for  the  supply  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  by  sixty 
miles'  cartage  over  the  worst  roads  in  the  Republic,  and 
the  force,  augmented  in  October  and  November  by  two 
army  corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  by  a 
part  of  Sherman's  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  was  for  some 
months  on  half  rations.     It  was  at  this  time  that  Genera^ 
Rosecrans  was  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  Army  of 
the    Cumberland,    and   General  Thomas  made  his  suc 
cessor,  while  General  Grant  was  put  in  command  of  the 
grand  military  division  of  the  Mississippi,  comprising  the 
three  armies  already  named.     He  had  not  long  assumed 
command  when  affairs  put  on  a  brighter  aspect.     By  an 
adroit  movement,  the  sixty  miles  of  wagon  road  was  re 
duced  to  ten,  over  a  good  road,  and  presently,  by  an 
other  equally  adroit  manoeuvre,  the  navigation  of  the 
Tennessee  below  Chattanooga  was  secured,  and  arrange 
ments  made  for  the  speedy  repair  of  the  Nashville  and 


62 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


Chattanooga  railroad.  Still,  so  sanguine  was  Bragg  that 
he  should  soon  obtain  possession  of  Chattanooga,  that  on 
the  21st  of  November  he  sent  this  message  by  flag  of 
truce  to  General  Grant :  "  Humanity  would  dictate  the 
removal  of  all  non-combatants  from  Chattanooga,  as  I 
am  about  to  shell  the  city  !" 

The  reply  to  this  threat  came  promptly,  but  it  was 
not  fully  delivered  until  the  evening  of  the  25th  of 
that  month. 

General  Grant  had  been  devising  means  and  ways 
for  the  expulsion  of  the  rebel  forces  from  the  valley 
of  Chattanooga  and  its  vicinity,  and  his  plans  were  just 
ripe  for  execution  when  this  summons  came  from  Bragg. 
That  general  had  been  betrayed  into  the  indiscretion  of 
sending  Longstreet  with  about  twenty  thousand  troops 
to  besiege  Knoxville,  and  had  thus  fatally  weakened  his 
force.  Giving  instructions  to  General  Burnside  to  lure 
him  on,  and  while  delaying  his  progress  by  occasional, 
and,  apparently,  strenuous  resistance  to  fall  back  after 
each  battle,  till  Longstreet  was  securely  entrapped,  he 
made  rapid  dispositions  to  punish  Bragg  most  severely 
for  his  audacity.  Pontoons  were  secretly  transported  to 
the  Tennessee,  near  the  mouth  of  North  Chickamauga 
creek,  and  a  sufficient  body  of  troops  crossed  in  boats 
to  drive  off  any  rebel  troops  in  the  immediate  vicinity ; 
and  then,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  the  pontoons  were 
laid,  a  cavalry  force  crossed,  and  sent  to  cut  the  railroads 
leading  to  Knoxville  effectually,  and,  a  large  body  of 
troops  following  them,  took  possession  of  an  isolated  hill 
between  the  Atlanta  railroad  and  the  river.  This  move 
ment  was  made  under  General  Sherman's  direction. 
General  Hooker,  meantime,  was  dispatched  with  a  suffi 
cient  and  resolute  force  to  take  possession  of  Lookout 
Mountain  and  drive  the  rebels  from  it.  He  marches 


GENERAL    GRANT. 


down  Lookout  Valley,  and  seems  to  be  intending  to 
reach  and  ascend  a  pass  ten  miles  below,  but,  when 
out  of  sight  of  the  rebel  camps  on  the  brow  of 
the  mountain,  suddenly  turns,  ascends,  and  attacJ 
them  in  the  rear,  and  after  a  series  of  gallant  engage- 
ments  succeeds  in  driving  them,  with  heavy  loss, 
from  the  mountain,  which,  the  next  morning,  was 
crowned  with  the  Union  flag. 

On  the  previous  day,  simultaneously  with  Sherman's 
movements,  General  Thomas  had  moved  out  of  Chatta 
nooga  with  a  heavy  force,  and,  after  a  sharp  action  and 
a  brilliant  charge,  obtained  possession  of  Orchard  Knob 
and  another  eminence  in  front  of  Chattanooga,  on  which 
the  rebels  had  a  strong  redoubt,  and  which  commanded 
a  part  of  Mission  Ridge  and  the  principal  forts  o 
rebels  on  that  ridge. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  General  Grant  directed 
General  Sherman  to  make  persistent  and  repeated  de 
monstrations  against  Fort  Buckner,  situated  on  Tunnel 
Hill  the  northern  extremity  of  the  continuous  Mission 
Ridge,  not  in  the  expectation  that  he  would  be  able  to 
carry  the  fort  by  his  assaults,  but  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  rebels  in  that  direction,  while  he  was  preparing 
to  attack  them  from  Fort  Wood.     Sherman's  first  as 
sault  was  made  about  10  A.  M.  ;  it  was  repulsed,  as  were 
other  successive  assaults  delivered  on  one  and  the  other 
slope  of  the  ridge  on  which  Fort  Buckner  stood  defiant, 
and,  as  the  rebels  believed,  impregnable.     The  assaulting 
colu'mns  were  reinforced  again  and  again,  and,  though 
not  successful    in    carrying  the  fort,    they  had    accom 
plished  all  that  Grant  desired ;  they  had  drawn  thither 
a  lar<re  portion  of  the  rebel  force,  thus  weakening  the 
garrisons   of  Forts    Breckinridge    and  Bragg,    further 
south   on  the   same   ridge,  and  had  been  able  to  gam 


64: 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


and  hold  a  position  far  up  the  slope,  from  which,  when 
the  time  came,  they  could  deliver  a  crushing  blow  upon 
the  rebel  fort.  It  had  been  announced  to  the  corps  in  a 
general  order,  that  the  firing  of  six  guns  was  to  be 
the  signal  for  the  movement  of  the  fourth  army  corps 
(General  Gordon  Granger's)  to  the  assault  of  Fort 
Breckinridge,  the  largest  and  most  formidable  of  the 
enemy's  works  on  Mission  Ridge,  situated  nearly  a  mile 
below  Fort  Buckner.  This  fort  was  about  two  miles 
distant,  and  nearly  northeast  of  Fort  Wood,  the  earth 
work  on  the  summit  of  Orchard  Knob,  where  Thomas's 
army  were  assembled.  A  little  past  3  p.  M.,  General 
Sherman  sent  word  to  General  Grant  that  he  could  hold 
his  position,  and  at  twenty  minutes  to  four  the  signal- 
guns  boomed  from  Fort  Wood,  and  the  divisions  of 
Wood,  Sheridan,  and  Baird,  forming  the  fourth  army 
corps,  sprang  to  their  positions,  and  in  five  minutes 
were  marching  steadily  towards  the  ridge.  The  rebel 
batteries  on  the  summit,  and  the  rifle-pits  which  girded 
the  slope  and  the  base  of  the  ridge,  commenced  at  once 
a  sweeping  fire  over  the  plain  which  the  assaulting  party 
must  cross,  and  the  Union  batteries— Forts  Wood  and 
Negley,  Forts  Palmer  and  King,  from  a  point  nearer 
Chattanooga,  Bridge's  battery  from  the  base  of  Orchard 
Knob,  and  Moccasin  Point  battery,  from  the  other  side 
of  the  Tennessee— hurled  in  reply  their  heavy  shot  and 
shell,  at  long  range,  on  the  rebel  forts  and  rifle-pits. 
Undismayed  by  the  tempest  of  shot,  and  shell,  and 
bullets  that  rained  so  fiercely  upon  them,  the  veteran 
troops  pressed  steadily  and  swiftly  forward,  cleared  with 
a  hurrah  the  rifle-pits  at  the  base  of  the  ridge,  sending 
the  rebel  troops  which  had  occupied  it  back  as  prisoners, 
and  instantly  ascending  the  precipitous  slope,  a  slope  so 
steep  that  it  would  task  severely  the  powers  of  a  skilful 


GENERAL  GRANT. 


65 


climber  to  reach  the  top  unopposed  ;  yet,  with  an  ardor 
that  nothing  could  restrain,  upward,  still  upward  they 
went,  though  every  step  was  attended  with  loss  from  the 
fire  of  the  thirteen  batteries  on  the  summit,  and  the  vol 
leys  of  musketry  which  belch  forth  from  the  rebel  rifle- 
pits  and  barricades  half  way  up  the  slope.     These  last  are 
soon  carried  with  a  shout,  and  their  occupants  sent  reel 
ing  down  the  slope  under  the  fire  of  their  own  batteries, 
and,  without  stopping  for  breath,  the  Union  soldiers  push 
on  up  a  steep  so  precipitous  that  the  cannon  in  the  forts 
cannot  be  depressed  sufficiently  to  reach  them,  and  it  is 
only  the  musketry  fire  from  the  rebels  on  the  summit 
which  opposes  them.     The  rebels  did  not,  would  not, 
believe  that  they  could  reach  the  top.     Bragg  himself 
declared  it  utterly  impossible.     Five  minutes  before  the 
Union  troops  captured  Fort  Breckinridge,  an  old  lady, 
at  whose  house  on  the  summit  Bragg  made  his  head 
quarters,  said  to   him,    "  General,  what  shall  we  do  if 
the  Yankees  do  get  up  here?"       "Oh!    never    fear," 
was  Bragg's  reply,  "  they  cannot  reach  the  top ;  every 
man  of  them  will  be  killed  before  they  get  near  it." 
"But,"  said  the  old  lady  to  a  Union  officer,  "he  had 
hardly  said  so,    when    they  came    swarming    up,    and 
General  Bragg  and  General  Breckinridge  had   to  ride 
for  their  lives."      The  top  of    the    ridge  was  gained  ; 
Fort  Breckinridge,    after    a  brief  but    sharp   struggle, 
was  captured  ;  and  Bragg's  army,  routed,  and  abandon 
ing  all  their  artillery  and  most  of  their  small-arms,  fled, 
tumbled,  and  rolled  down  the  eastern  slope  of  the  ridge. 
Instantly  Sherman  advanced  and  drove  the  rebels  from 
Fort  Buckner,  while  Hooker,  who  had  been  moving  from 
the  eastern  slope  of  Lookout  mountain  since  early  morn 
ing,   and  had  ascended  Mission  Ridge  some   distance 
below,     came    upon    Fort    Bragg    two    miles    below, 

6* 


66  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

and  drove  its  garrison  into  the  valley  of  the  Chicka- 
mauga. 

General  Bragg  was  answered.  The  non-combatants 
were  not  removed  from  Chattanooga,  and  that  redoubt 
able  general,  partly  from  the  loss  of  most  of  his  cannon, 
and  partly  from  the  entire  rout  of  his  forces  and  their 
rapid  retreat  eastward,  was  unable  to  fulfil  his  threat  of 
shelling  the  city. 

But  General  Grant  had  not  yet  done  with  General 
Bragg  or  his  troops.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th, 
long  before  dawn,  Davis's  division  of  the  fourteenth 
corps  were  in  rapid  pursuit  of  the  retreating  foe,  and 
very  soon  after  sunrise  three  corps,  Hooker's,  Palmer's, 
and  Sherman's,  were  on  their  way,  and,  overtaking  the 
rear  of  the  enemy,  drove  them  in  confusion  from 
Chickamauga  depot,  capturing  and  destroying  large 
quantities  of  supplies  and  some  cannon  ;  and  thence 
pushing  forward  to  Pigeon  Ridge  and  Graysville,  still 
skirmishing  wherever  the  rebels  would  make  a  stand, 
drove  them  eastward  to  Ringgold  Gap,  where  they 
fought  for  a  time  desperately,  having  every  advantage 
of  position,  but  were  eventually  driven  from  the  Gap 
and  beyond  Red  Clay  station  on  the  Dalton  and  Cleve 
land  railroad  ;  and  that  railroad  being  destroyed,  thus 
eventually  cutting  off  all  communication  between  Bragg 
and  Longstreet,  the  pursuit  was  given  over,  and  the  shat 
tered  columns  of  Bragg's  army  were  gathered  at  Dalton, 
where  Bragg  was  at  once  displaced  from  command,  and 
Hardee,  and  eventually  J.  E.  Johnston,  put  at  the  head 
of  the  rebel  army. 

Meantime,  General  Grant  had  directed  General  Sher 
man,  after  pursuing  the  enemy  a  few  miles,  to  turn  north 
ward,  and,  marching  with  all  practicable  speed,  put  him 
self  in  communication  with  General  Burnside  and  compel 


GENERAL    GRANT.  67 

Longstreet  to  raise  the  siege  of  Knoxville.  This  was 
accomplished,  aid  Longstreet,  who,  enraged  at  hav  ng 
been  outwitted,  had  dashed  himself  in  vam  agamst  he 
defences  of  Knoxville,  found  himself  compelled,  on  the 
4th  of  December,  by  the  near  approach  of  Shermans 
Wmv  to  abandon  the  siege  and  retreat  towards  Vir 
ginia  while  both  Foster's  and  Sherman's  cavalry  pur- 


sued. 


eel 

With  this  movement  the  campaign  of  Chattanooga 
closed  a  campaign  hardly  less  brilliant  than  that  oi 
Vicklrg,  and  one  which  paralyzed  for  month,  the 
rebel  army  in  the  Southwest. 

On  the  7th  of  December  it  was  announced  that  from 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  up  to  that  date,  the 
armies  under  General  Grant's  particular  command 
had  captured  four  hundred  and  seventy-two  cannon 
ninety  thousand  prisoners,  and  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  stand  of  small-arms. 

On  the  8th  of  December  the  President  of  the  United 
States  sent  the  following  dispatch  to  General  < 

WASHINGTON,  DEC.  8,  1863. 
MAJOR-GENERAL  GRANT: 

Understanding  that  your  lodgment  at  Chattanooga 
and  Knoxville  is  now  secure,  I  wish  to  tender  you,   and 
all  under  your  command,  my  more  than  thanks-my  pro- 
foundest   gratitude,  for  the   skill,    courage,    and  perse 
verance  with  which  you   and   they,  over  so  great  drf- 
ficulties,    have   effected   that  important    object, 
bless  you  all!  A  LINCOLN. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  General  Grant  issued  the 
following  congratulatory  order  to  the  army  unc 


OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

command.  Its  quiet,  self-possessed,  and  appreciative 
tone,  while  they  contrast  favorably  with  the  boastful 
character  of  some  of  the  general  orders  of  officers 
whose  achievements  were  far  less  conspicuous  than  his, 
remind  us  forcibly  of  the  orders  of  that  other  great 
commander,  whom  in  so  many  traits  of  character  he 
strikingly  resembles,  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 


I 


HEADQUARTERS,  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  TKE  MISSISSIPPI, 
IN  THE  FIELD,  CHATTANOOGA,  TENNESSEE, 

Dec.  10,  1863. 
General  Orders,  No.  9. 

The  general-commanding  takes  this  opportunity  of 
returning  his  sincere  thanks  and  congratulations  to  the 
brave  armies  of  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio,  the  Ten 
nessee,  and  their  comrades  from  the  Potomac,  for  the 
recent  splendid  and  decisive  successes  achieved  over  the 
enemy.  In  a  short  time  you  have  recovered  from  him 
the  control  of  the  Tennessee  river,  from  Bridgeport  to 
Knoxville.  You  dislodged  him  from  his  great  strong 
hold  upon  Lookout  mountain,  drove  him  from  Chatta 
nooga  valley,  wrested  from  his  determined  grasp  the 
possession  of  Missionary  Ridge,  repelled  with  heavy 
loss  to  him  his  repeated  assaults  upon  Knoxville,  forcing 
him  to  raise  the  siege  there,  driving  him  at  all  points, 
utterly  routed  and  discomfited,  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
State.  By  your  noble  heroism  and  determined  courage 
you  have  most  effectually  defeated  the  plans  of  the  enemy 
for  regaining  possession  of  the  States  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  You  have  secured  positions  from  which.no 
rebellious  power  can  drive  or  dislodge  you.  For  all  this, 
the  general-commanding  thanks  you,  collectively  and  in 
dividually.  The  loyal  people  of  the  United  States  thank 
and  bless  you.  Their  hopes  and  prayers  for  your  sue- 


GENERAL    GKANT. 


cess  against  this  unholy  rebellion  are  with  yon  daily. 
Their  faith  in  you  will  not  be  in  vain.  Their  hopes  will 
not  be  blasted.  Their  prayers  to  Almighty  God  will  b 
answered.  You  will  yet  go  to  other  fields  of  strife ; 
and  with  the  invincible  bravery  and  unflinching  loyalty 
to  iustice  and  right  which  have  characterized  you  in  the 
past  you  will  prove  that  no  enemy  can  withstand  you, 
and 'that  no  defences,  however  formidable,  can  check 
k  your  onward  march. 

By  order  of 

Maj.-Gen.  U.  S.  GRANT. 

T.  S.  BOWERS,  A.  A.  G. 

The  honors  lavished  upon  General  Grant  for  this  and 
his  previous  successes,  were  not  confined  to  the  thanks 
sent  him  by  the  President.     On  the  17th  of  Dec,  1863, 
a  joint  resolution  passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  and 
received  the  Executive  approval,  which,  in  addition  to 
the  thanks  of  the  national  Legislature,  provided  for  a 
gold  medal,  with  suitable  emblems,  devices,  and  inscrip 
tions,  to  be  prepared  and  presented  to  General  Grant. 
This  token  of  a  nation's  grateful  regard  was  designed  by 
the  artist  Leutze.     On  one  face  of  the  medal  was  a  pro- 
file   likeness   of  the  hero,  surrounded  by  a  wreath   of 
laurels-his  name  and  the  year  of  his  victories  inscribed 
upon  it ;  and  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  galaxy  of  stars. 
The  design  for  the  obverse  was  the  figure  of  Fame  seated 
in  a  graceful  attitude  on  the  American  Eagle,  which  with 
wings  outspread  seems  about  to  take  flight.     In  her  right 
hand  she  holds  her  trumpet,  and  in  her  left  a  scroll  on 
which  are  inscribed  Corinth,  Yicksburg,  Mississippi  riv 
er  and  Chattanooga.     On  her  head  is  an  Indian  helmet 
with  radiating  feathers.     In  front  of  the  eagle  is  the  em 
blematic  shield  of  the  United  States.     Below  the  group, 


70 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


sprigs  of  the  pine  and  palm,  denoting  the  North  and 
South,  cross  each  other.  Above  the  figure  of  Fame  in  a 
curved  line  is  the  motto,  "  Proclaim  Liberty  throughout 
the  Land."  The  edge  is  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  By 
zantine  stars,  exceeding  the  number  of  the  present  States 
of  the  Union.  Resolutions  of  thanks  were  also  passed 
by  the  Legislatures  of  most  of  the  loyal  States;  and  nu 
merous  costly  presents  (swords,  pistols,  &c.)  were  made 
by  admiring  friends.  None  of  these  honors,  however, 
produced  on  the  part  of  the  recipient  of  them  any  ela 
tion,  or  changed  in  the  least  the  simplicity  and  modesty 
of  his  manners,  or  his  earnest  devotion  to  the  work  of 
putting  down  the  rebellion.  His  health  was  not  fully 
re-established,  after  the  severe  injuries  he  had  received 
at  New  Orleans,  but  he  toiled  more  continuously  and 
patiently  than  any  officer  in  the  service.  The  communi 
cations  of  his  army  with  its  bases  at  Nashville  and  Louis 
ville,  which  had  long  been  broken  or  in  indifferent  con 
dition,  must  be  put  in  the  best  order,  and  abundant 
stores  accumulated  at  Chattanooga,  Nashville,  and 
Knoxville,  for  the  coming  campaign  into  the  heart  of 
Georgia.  His  men,  worn  down  by  short  rations  and 
severe  labors,  must  be  recruited  by  the  best  of  care  to 
the  highest  degree  of  efficiency,  and  withal  there  must 
be  during  the  winter  months  a  severe  and  crushing  blow 
struck  upon  some  vital  point  of  the  Confederacy  in  the 
Southwest.  He  had  hoped  to  join  in  a  co-operative 
movement  with  the  Department  of  the  Gulf  on  Mobile, 
but  his  plans  in  that  direction  were  thwarted  by  some 
adverse  influences.  He  then  determined  u-on  an  expe 
dition  from  Vicksburg  eastward  to  roach  Meridian, 
Miss.,  and,  if  possible,  Selma  and  Montgomery,  Ala. ; 
this  expedition  to  be  joined  at  or  near  Meridian  by  a 
cavalry  force  dispatched  simultaneously  from  Lagrange 


GENERAL    GRANT. 


71 


southward,  and  the  two  to  traverse  at  will  the  central 
portions  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama.      The  enterprise 
was  a  bold  and  daring  one  ;  the  army  which  should  un 
dertake  it  must  cut  loose  from  their  base,  and  obtain 
their  subsistence  mainly  from  the  enemy's  country— and 
this  with  a  force  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand  men 
was  not  an  easy  matter.     The  management  and  leader 
ship  of  the  principal  column,  which  was  to  move  east 
ward  from  Vicksburg,  he  assigned  to  his  tried  and  able 
lieutenant,  General  WilliamT.  Sherman,  and  the  command 
of  the  cavalry  co-operating  force  to  his  chief  of  cavalry, 
General  W.  Sooy  Smith.     The  expedition  started  early  in 
February,  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Meridian  ;   but  the 
cavalry  failing  to  join  them,  they  advanced  no  further 
eastward,  but  returned  to  Vicksburg  after  an  absence  of 
a  month.     In  consequence  of  this  failure  on  the  part  of 
the  cavalry  to  connect,  which  was  not  wholly  their  fault, 
the  expedition  did  not  produce  all  the  results  expected 
from  it  by  General  Grant ;  but  it  greatly  crippled  the 
resources  of  the  rebels,  made  their  railroads  worthless  as 
communications,  and  by  the  alarm  it  awakened  prevented 
the  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Gulf  from  joining  John 
ston,  who  had  now  succeeded  Hardee  in  the  command 
of  the  rebel  army  at  Dalton. 

While  this  expedition  was  in  progress  General  Grant 
was  summoned  to  new  and  higher  responsibilities.  Con 
gress  resolved  to  revive  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General, 
which  had  been  conferred  by  brevet  only,  on  General 
Scott,  but  as  an  actual  rank  in  time  of  war  had  only  been 
bestowed  on  General  Washington  ;  and  a  law  to  that 
effect  having  been  passed,  the  President  at  once  con 
ferred  the  commission  on  General  Grant,  and  the  Senate 
confirmed  it.  The  commission  bore  date  March  2d,  1864, 
and  on  the  9th  of  that  month  the  President  presented 


<  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

to  him  in  person  this  commission,  assuring  him  of  his 
own  hearty  personal  concurrence  in  the  measure.  General 
Grant  replied  very  briefly,  but  evidently  with  deep  feel 
ing.  On  the  12th  of  March,  the  President,  by  official 
order,  assigned  to  the  lieutenant-general  the  command 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States ;  at  the  same  time  ap 
pointing  General  W.  T.  Sherman  commander  of  the  grand 
military  division  of  the  Mississippi,  which  General  Grant 
had  previously  commanded ;  and  General  McPherson,  an 
able  and  accomplished  officer,  to  succeed  General  Sher 
man  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  ;  while 
General  Halleck,  hitherto  general-in- chief,  was  relieved 
from  duty,  and  made  chief  of  staff  to  the  army,  at 
Washington. 

General  Grant  had,  in  January,  1864,  visited  all  parts 
of  his  command,  the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  carefully  observed  its  condition,  but  his  position  as 
lieutenant-general  required  that  he  should  fpend  some 
time  in  ascertaining  the  condition  of  the  other  Western 
departments,  and  that  he  should  arrange  with  General 
Sherman  the  future  movements  of  the  spring  and  sum 
mer  campaign.  This  done,  he  returned  as  speedily  as 
possible,  and  made  every  preparation  for  the  coming 
campaign  in  Virginia.  He  purposed  taking  command  in 
person  of  the  forces  destined  to  assail  Richmond,  though 
keeping  a  vigilant  oversight  of  the  movements  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  General  Sherman,  with  his  mag 
nificent  force,  composed  of  the  three  armies,  of  the  Cum 
berland,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Ohio,  had  been  ordered 
to  move,  as  nearly  as  possible,  simultaneously  with  the 
armies  in  Virginia,  so  that  there  should  be  no  reinforce 
ments  sent  from  one  rebel  army  to  the  other,  as  there 
had  been  during  the  previous  autumn. 

The  force  with  which  Grant  took  the  field  against  - 


GENERAL   GRANT. 


T3 


Lee,  was  such  a  one  as  has  seldom  been  under  a  single 
commander,  or  concentrated  upon  a  single  object.     It 
consisted,  in   fact,  of  three  armies;    the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Meade, 
consisting  of  three  corps  of  infantry  recruited  up  to  their 
full  strength,  and  numbering  each  nearly  fifty  thousand 
men,  with  such  corps-commanders  as  Hancock,  Warren, 
and  Sedgwick ;  a  cavalry  corps  of  extraordinary  ability, 
commanded  by  the  gallant  and  fiery  Sheridan,  and  a  re 
serve    corps  of  about  40,000  men,    one-third    of  them 
colored  troops,  under  the   command  of  the  brave  and 
trusty  Burnside  ;  the   Army  of  the  James,  under  the 
command  of  Major-General   Butler,  composed   of  two 
corps,  one  that  was   hitherto  known    as   the    Army  of 
Eastern  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  the  other  a  fine 
corps,  partly  composed  of  colored  troops,  under  the  com 
mand  of  General  Gilmore,  hitherto  forming  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  the  Department  of  the  South  ;  and  the  Army  of 
the  Shenandoah,  commanded    by  Major-General  Franz 
Sigel,  and  composed  of  the  Army  of  Western  Virginia, 
under  General  Crooks,  and  to  which  was  subsequently 
added  the  Nineteenth  army   corps,   formerly  from   the 
Department  of  the  Gulf,  commanded  by  General  Emory, 
and  with  these  a  considerable  cavalry  force.     But,  though 
seeking  the   accomplishment  of  a  common   object— the 
reduction  of  Richmond— these  armies  were  moving  from 
different  points,  and   over  different  fields,  to  effect  it. 
Lee's  forces  lay  south  of  the  Rapidan,  stretching  east 
ward  from  Orange  Court-house,  and  his  cavalry  guard 
ing  his  left  flank  towards  Gordonsville,  and  his  right  near 
Chancellorsville.     The  Army  of  the  Potomac,  which  for 
months  had  been  confronting  him,  lay  north  of  the  Rap 
idan,  its  headquarters  being  at  Culpepper  Court-house, 
and  its  camps  extending  from  Brandy  Station  to  Robert- 


i±  CUE   GEEAT   CAPTAINS. 

son's  river.  To  this  army  was  assigned  the  opening  of 
the  conflict,  and  the  mighty  task  of  driving  back  Lee's 
vast  force,  which  possessed  the  advantage  of  interior 
lines.  The  Army  of  the  James  had  for  its  first  duty  the 
seizing,  by  an  adroitly  executed  feint,  the  position  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  lying  on  the  south  or  right  bank  of 
the  James,  nearly  midway  between  Richmond  and 
Petersburg ;  and,  if  it  should  prove  practicable,  the  in 
terposition  of  a  sufficient  force  permanently  between 
Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  the  capture  of  the  latter 
city.  The  Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  though  not  at  first 
existing  under  that  title,  had  for  its  first  mission  a  move 
ment  upon  Staunton,  Waynesboro,  and  Lynchburg,  with 
the  intent  of  crippling  the  resources  and  effectually  cut 
ting  off  the  supplies  of  Lee's  army  from  the  West,  and 
at  the  same  time  guarding  against  any  sudden  move 
ment  of  a  rebel  force  down  the  Valley  of  the  Shenan 
doah,  and  into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. 

Every  thing  being  thus  prepared,  the  order  was  given 
on  the  night  of  May  3d,  for  the  army  of  the  Potomac  to 
break  up  camp,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  three 
corps  crossed  the  Rapidan,  the  Second  corps  (Han 
cock's)  in  front,  crossing  at  Ely's  ford,  the  Fifth  (War 
ren's)  and  the  Sixth  (Sedgwick's)  immediately  following, 
crossing  at  Germanna  ford.  This  movement,  which 
aimed  at  flanking  Lee's  right,  as  his  army  were  strongly 
intrenched  at  Mine  run,  was  at  once  observed  by  General 
Lee,  who,  with  his  usual  promptness,  made  a  counter 
movement  to  match  it.  From  a  short  distance  south  of 
Germanna  ford,  eastward  to  and  beyond  Chancellorsville, 
stretches  a  tract  of  dense,  tangled  forest  and  undergrowth, 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  length  and  about  five  miles 
wide,  traversed  by  few  and  indifferent  roads,  known  as 
the  "  Wilderness."  It  was  in  the  eastern  part  of  this 


GENERAL  GKANT. 


T5 


that  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  was  foaght,  in  May, 
1863.     Into  this  desolate  and  difficult  region  the  army  of 
the  Potomac  plunged,  almost  immediately  on  crossing  the 
Rapidan  ;  and  against  their  line,  at  right  angles,  between 
the  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps,  Lee  flung  Longstreet's  corps, 
on  Thursday,  May  5th,  before  they  had  had  the  oppor 
tunity  of  getting  into  position,  and  while  they  were  yet 
embarrassed  by  the  dense  and  tangled  undergrowth  of 
the  forest.     The  weight  of  the  first  attack  fell  on  Sedg- 
wick's  corps,  which,  though  losing  heavily,  succeeded  *n 
holding  its  own.     Drawing    back    momentarily,   Long- 
street  returned  to  the  attack  with  still  greater  despera 
tion,  and  at  first  seemed  to  be  carrying  all  before  him, 
but  Sedgwick's  veterans  would  not  yield,  and  the  enemy, 
sorely  dis-appointed,  withdrew  ;   then   a  fresh  force  was 
hurled  against  the  centre  (Warren's  corps),  but,  though 
gaining  a  temporary  advantage,  was  finally  foiled,  and 
beaten  back.     The  battle  lasted  far  into  the  night,  but 
with  indecisive  results.     At  4  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  Friday, 
6th  of  May,  Lee  renewed  the  attack,  again  massing  his 
force,  and  attempting  to  break  through  the  right  and 
centre :  the  attack  was  repulsed,  and  by  6   A.  M.,  Han 
cock  commenced  driving  the  rebels,  who  fell  back  to  a 
high  ridge,  with  a  marsh  in  front,— a  position  they  had 
previously  fortified.     Through  the  day  the  fighting  was 
terribly  severe,  each  party  in  turn  gaining  some  slight 
success,  though    at   the   expense    of  terrible   slaughter- 
Towards  dark  an  attack  was  made  on  the  extreme  right 
of  the  Union  lines,  and  they  were  turned,  and  the  right 
completely  flanked.     General  Grant  showed  his  military 
skill  and  fertility  of  resources  by  extending  his  left,  and 
centre,  which  were  still  firm,  southward,  and  bringing 
his  right  into  a  new  position,  changing  his  base  mean 
while  to  Fredericksburg  and  the  Rappahannock.     He 


Y6  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

thus  flanked  Lee  in  turn,  and  out  of  threatened  defeat 
evoked  success.  He  had  also  gained  another  advantage, 
in  getting  out  of  the  Wilderness  into  a  more  open 
country,  where  he  could  use  his  artillery  with  greater 
effect.  Moreover,  Burnside,  with  a  part  of  the  reserves, 
had  come  up  in  season  to  take  part  in  the  fight  of  Friday 
afternoon.  An  advance  at  daybreak  on  Saturday  (May 
7th)  showed  that  Lee  had  fallen  back.  Grant  pursued 
vigorously,  and  came  upon  him  near  Spottsylvania  Court 
house,  where  he  had  taken  a  new  and  very  strong  po 
sition.  On  Sunday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday  there  was 
some  sharp  fighting,  but  without  any  decisive  result. 
On  Wednesday  the  fighting  was  more  severe,  but  still 
without  marked  result.  On  Wednesday  night  (llth), 
General  Grant  directed  Hancock's  (Second)  corps  to  be 
transferred  to  the  left,  taking  up  a  position  between 
Sedgwick's  (Sixth)  and  Burnside's  (Ninth)  corps.  This 
movement  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the 
enemy's  right,  and  at  the  same  time  forcing  them  further 
from  their  connections  with  Richmond.  At  half-past 
4  A.  M.,  on  the  12th,  the  Second  corps  (Hancock's) 
moved  on  the  enemy  in  a  most  terrible  bayonet-charge, 
which  proved  a  perfect  surprise  to  the  rebels,  winning  the 
day,  capturing  thirty  heavy  guns,  and  over  four  thousand 
prisoners,  including  two  generals.  The  Fifth  and  Ninth 
corps  also  made  successful  charges.  This  was  the  first 
great  success  of  the  campaign,  and  it  rendered  the  rebels 
desperate  ;  they  made  repeated  and  obstinate  charges  in 
the  attempt  to  retake  the  positions  captured  by  Han 
cock,  continuing  their  struggles,  though  at  terrible  cost, 
till  3  o'clock  on  Friday  morning.  On  Friday,  Lee  re 
formed  his  lines,  moving  further  to  the  right,  and  Grant 
kept  pace  with  him.  On  Friday  night  the  rebels  at 
tacked  the  Fifth  corps  (Warren's),  but  were  repulsed 


GENERAL    GRANT.  77 

with  severe  loss.  From  the  12th  to  the  18th  of  May 
there  was  a  lull  in  the  fighting,  both  armies  resting,  and 
receiving  large  reinforcements.  On  the  18th,  General 
Hancock  attacked  the  right  flank  of  the  rebels,  and 
gained  two  lines  of  his  intrench ments.  Burnside  was  also 
engaged  the  same  day,  but  without  decisive  result.  Gen 
eral  Grant  had  already  planned  another  flanking  move 
ment,  by  way  of  Guiney's  station,  to  Milford  bridge, 
which  occupied  the  next  three  days,  and  which  was  suc 
cessfully  executed,  except  some  loss  of  wagons  and  am 
bulances,  from  aa  attack  of  Ewell.  Lee  meantime  had 
moved  and  occupied  a  strong  position  between  the  North 
and  South  Anna.  After  some  hard  fighting,  in  which 
the  Union  troops  reaped  partial  success,  General  Grant 
found  their  position  too  strong  for  direct  attack,  and 
again  prepared  to  make  a  flank  movement.  Ordering 
the  army  to  recross  the  North  Anna,  and  making  an  at 
tack  with  his  right  wing,  to  cover  the  movement,  he 
burnt  the  bridge  of  the  Virginia  Central  railroad, 
rapidly  crossed  the  Pamunkey,  and  on  the  31st  of  May 
had  his  entire  army  across  the  Pamunkey,  and  within 
fifteen  miles  of  Richmond.  Here  again  he  found  Lee 
ready  to  receive  him,  and,  with  reinforcements  received 
from  the  Shenandoah  valley,  presented  a  full  front.  For 
two  or  three  days  there  was  cavalry  fighting  and  skir 
mishing,  but  no  general  engagement.  On  the  first  of 
June  the  Sixth  corps  took  up  a  strong  position  near 
Cold  Harbor,  where  they  were  joined  by  a  force  under 
General  W.  F.  Smith,  detached  from  the  army  of  the 
James.  Here,  on  the  third  of  June,  a  stubborn  and 
desperate  battle  was  fought,  which  resulted  in  the  pos 
session  of  Cold  Harbor  by  the  Union  forces.  The  same 
day  the  Union  troops  attacked  the  rebel  position,  and  a 
bloody  and  protracted  engagement  followed,  but  they 

7* 


Y8  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

failed  to  carry  the  rebel  works.     Finding  that  to  dis- 
lodo-e*  the  enemy  from   his  position  by   direct    attack 
would  require  too  great  a  sacrifice  of  life,  General  Grant 
now  determined  on  the  bold  measure   of  crossing  the 
James  river,  and  making  his  attack  on  Richmond  from 
that  side.     This  movement  was  made  in  the  lace 
enemy,  though  without  his  knowledge,  in  three  days, 
viz.,  from  the  12th  to  the  15th  of  June. 

General  Butler  had  meantime  been  executing  his  part 
of  the  programme  with  great  skill.     He  had  occupie 
Bermuda  Hundred,  and  fortified  his  position  there;  had 
cut  the  railroad  below  Petersburg,  and  made  a  dash 
upon  that  city,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  capturing  it ; 
had  laid  siege  to  Fort  Darling,  but  had  been  unable  to 
hold  his  position  against  the  rebel  force;  had  repelled 
the  rebel  attacks  upon  his  lines,  and  was  in  position  to 
welcome  the  approach  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  and 
render  it  valuable  assistance.      The  army  of  West  Vir 
ginia,  under  General  Sigel,  had  been  less  successful.     On 
the  15th  of  May  he  encountered   a  considerable  reto 
force  at  Reed's  hill,  near  Mount  Jackson,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah,  and  was  severely  handled.      He  was 
then  relieved  of  command,  and  succeeded  by  General 
Hunter,  who  at  first  met  with  better  fortune.     He  de 
feated  General  Sam  Jones,   near  Staunton,   and  kill 
him;  took  1,500  prisoners  and  several  guns,  driving  the 
rebels  to  Waynesboro.      On  the  8th  he  formd  a  junction 
with  Crook  and  Averill;  and,  while  General  Sheridan 
moved  towards  Gordonsville,  and  defeated  the  rebels  at 
Trevilian  station,  Hunter  pressed  on  towards  Lynchburg 
destroying  railroads  and  bridges  on  his  way,  but  finding 
it  strongly  defended  did  not  venture  to  attack,  and  Early 
marching  against  him,  in   turn,  with  a  large  force,  re 
treated  into  the  mountains,  and  made  a  forced  march 


GENERAL   GRANT. 


79 


into  Western  Virginia.     On  this  march  his  array  suffered 
terribly,  and  he  lost  heavily  in  guns  and  wagons. 

Sheridan,  meantime,  had  made  bis  famous  raid  around 
Lee's  lines,  destroying  railroads,  trains,  depots  of  sup 
plies,  releasing  our  prisoners,  and  capturing  many  of  the 
enemy.  He  penetrated  within  the  first  line  of  works 
around  Richmond,  and  having  cut  all  Lee's  communica 
tions,  reached  Butler's  headquarters  in  safety,  five  days 
after  starting. 

The  rebel  General  Early,  finding  himself  unopposed, 
extended  his  expedition  down  the  Shenandoah,  crossed 
into  Maryland,  occupied  Hagerstown  and  Frederick, 
and  plundered  extensively,  fought  two  or  three  battles 
with  the  militia,  which  had  been  called  out  to  oppose 
him,  threatened  Baltimore  and  Washington,  approach 
ing  within  two  miles  of  the  latter  city,  but  finding  that 
the  Nineteenth  corps,  from  New  Orleans,  and  the  Sixth, 
from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  were  ready  to  attack 
him,  and  that  General  Couch,  from  Pennsylvania,  was 
threatening  his  rear,  he  hastened  back  into  Virginia, 
taking  with  him  most  of  his  plunder. 

General  Grant,  having  reached  the  south  side  of  the 
James,   ordered   an   immediate   attack   on   Petersburg. 
This  would  probably  have  proved  successful  but  for  the 
lack  of  co-operation   on  the  part  of  the  cavalry  force, 
through  some  misunderstanding.     A  series  of  attacks 
were  made  upon  the  rebel  works,  and  by  the  22d  of 
June  the   city  was  invested,  except   on  the  north  and 
west.     There  was  sharp  fighting  that  day  for  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Petersburg  and  Danville  or  South  side  railroad, 
which  was  finally  held  by  the  Union  troops.     Meantime, 
an  extensive  raid  was  made  by  Wilson   and    Kautz's 
cavalry  upon  the  Weldon  railroad,  several  miles  of  whic 
they  destroyed,  together  with  stores,  &c.     Before  they 


80 


OUE   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


could  reach  our  lines,  however,  they  were  surrounded 
by  a  large  rebel  force,  and  lost  seven  or  eight  hundred 
men.      After  an  interval  of  comparative  quiet,  during 
which  General  Grant  had  succeeded  in  running  a  mine 
nearly  under  the  confederate  fortifications,  he  ordered  a 
feint  to  be  made  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  to 
divert  General  Lee's  attention  from  an  assault  which  he 
purposed  making  on  Petersburg  at  the  time  of  exploding 
the  mine.      The  feint,   better  known  as  the  action   of 
Strawberry  Plains,  was  successful  in  turning  the  enemy's 
left,  and  capturing  four  heavy  guns.     On  the  30th   of 
July  the  mine,  which  was  charged   with  eight  tons  of 
powder,    was    exploded,    and    the    assault   commenced. 
There  was  a  disagreement  between  the  commanders,  and 
fatal  delays  occurred,  which  permitted  the  rebels  to  re 
cover  from  their  first  panic,  and  make  effectual  resist 
ance,  and  the  movement  failed  of  success,  and  entailed 
heavy  losses  upon  the  troops  engaged  in  it.     Not  dis 
heartened  by  this  failure,  General  Grant  continued  his 
operations  with  renewed  energy.     The  battle  of  Deep 
Bottom,  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  occurred  on  the 
12th  of  August.     The  Second  corps  alone  was  engaged, 
and  dislodged  the  enemy  from  his  position,  taking  500 
prisoners,  six  cannon,  and  two  mortars.     On  the  18th  of 
August,  the  Fifth  corps   (Warren's)   moved  on  Reams 
station,   on  the  Weldon    railroad,   surprised   the   rebel 
force  guarding  it,  and  took  possession  of  the  road.     On 
the  19th  a  large  rebel  force  attacked  Warren  with  great 
impetuosity,  and  breaking  the  right  centre.     The  Union 
-troops  rallied,  however,  and  being  reinfored  by  two  di 
visions  of  the  Ninth  corps,  retrieved  measurably  the  for 
tunes  of  the  day,  holding  a  part  of  the  road,  though  with 
a  loss  of  nearly  4,000  men. 

During  the  next  five  weeks  there  were  no  movements 


GENERAL    GKANT.  81 

of  great  importance  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond  or 
Petersburg,  though  a  little  advance  had  been  made  by 
occasional  attacks  upon  the  enemy's  lines.  On  the  night 
of  the  28th  September,  General  Ord  crossed  the  James 
to  the  north  side,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the  29th 
advanced  on  the  intrenchments  at  Chaffin's  farm,  and 
carried  them  without  serious  loss,  capturing  nearly  300 
prisoners  and  fifteen  pieces  of  artillery.  General  Birney, 
at  the  same  time,  moved  up  the  Newmarket  road,  and 
carried  the  intrenchments  there  with  perfect  ease.  The 
Union  forces  then  took  possession  of  Fort  Harrison,  and 
advanced  as  far  as  Laurel  Hill.  On  the  30th,  the  rebels 
made  a  desperate  effort  to  capture  Fort  Harrison,  but 
failed,  and  the  Union  cavalry,  on  the  1st  of  October, 
made  a  reconnoissance  within  less  than  two  miles  of  Rich 
mond.  On  the  7th  of  October,  the  rebels  attempted  to 
turn  the  right  flank  of  the  army  of  the  James,  but  after 
some  temporary  success  and  some  sharp  fighting  they 
were  severely  repulsed.  On  the  29th  of  October,  Gen 
eral  Grant  ordered  a  reconnoissance  in  force  against  the 
rebel  position  at  Hatcher's  run.  A  severe  battle  ensued, 
with  considerable  loss  on  the  part  of  the  Union  troops, 
but  the  position  was  held  until  General  Grant  ordered 
their  withdrawal. 

Dissatisfied  with  the  inefficiency  which  had  existed  in 
the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  Northern  Virginia  and  Mary 
land,  General  Grant  advised,  in  August,  the  organiza 
tion  of  a  new  and  larger  department,  to  be  called  the 
Department  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  the  appointment  of 
Major-General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  to  its  command.  This 
'was  done,  and  after  careful  watching  of  the  enemy  for 
some  time,  General  Sheridan  decided  that  the  time  for 
action  had  come.  He  had  at  this  time  under  his  com 
mand  the  Army  of  Western  Virginia,  and  the  Sixth  and 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


Nineteenth  corps.  On  the  19th  of  September  was  fought  the 
battle  known  as  that  of  Oqequan  creek,  in  which,  after 
a  sharp  contest,  General  Sheridan,  by  a  brilliant  cavalry 
charge,  drove  Early's  army  from  the  field  in  confusion, 
capturing  over  2,000  prisoners  and  a  large  number   of 
guns.      On  the  22d  he  attacked  them  again  at  Fisher's 
Hill,  routing  them  completely,  capturing  their  artillery, 
horses,   and  ammunition,  and   pursued  them  as  far  as 
Staunton,  causing  them  a  loss  in  the  two  engagements 
of  over   10,000  men.      On   the   9th,   the  rebel  "(General 
Rosser  attacked  Sheridan  again  at  Fisher's  Hill,  but  was 
grievously  defeated.      On  the  19th  of  October,  General 
Early  attacked  the  Union   forces  again,  when  General 
Sheridan  was  absent,  and  in   the  morning  defeated  it, 
driving  the  Union  troops  three  miles,  and  taking  twenty- 
four  cannon ;  but   Sheridan  coming  up,  rallied  his  men, 
reformed  them,  and  defeated  the  rebels  in  turn,  utterly 
routing  them,  capturing  fifty-four  pieces  of  artillery,  in 
cluding  all  his  own. 

General  Sherman  had  fulfilled,  in  the  most  brilliant 
manner,  the  work  assigned  to  him.  After  a  campaign 
of  extraordinary  vigor  and  many  hard-fought  battles,  he 
took  possession  of  Atlanta  on  the  2d  of  September.  Hood, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  rebel  force,  rallying  from 
his  severe  defeats,  attempted  to  cut  Sherman's  lines  of 
communication  with  his  base  ;  and  Sherman  giving  him, 
for  good  reasons,  every  facility  of  doing  so,  sent  General 
Thomas  with  two  corps  to  the  Tennessee  river  to  look 
after  Hood,  who  was  by  this  time  in  Alabama,  and  then 
tearing  up  the  railroad  between  Atlanta  and  Chatta 
nooga,  and  cutting  loose  from  his  base,  started  with  a 
large  force  across  the  country,  nearly  three  hundred 
miles,  to  Savannah,  which  was  surrendered  to  him  on 
the  22d  of  December. 


GENERAL    GRANT.  83 

Meantime,  Hood  rashly  pushed  on  after  Thomas,  whose 
instructions  were  to  draw  him  on,  and  after  fighting  a 
severe  battle  at  Franklin,  on  the  30th  of  November,  in 
which  he  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  eighteen 
generals  and  about  Y,000  of  his  troops,  attempted  to  in 
vest  Nashville ;  but  on  the  15th  of  December  General 
Thomas  attacked  and  routed  him  completely,  pursuing 
him  to  the  Tennessee  river.  Hood's  losses  were  about 
17,000  men  in  these  two  engagements. 

An  expedition  was  planned  late  in  the  season  by 
General  Grant  against  Wilmington,  and  sailed  on  the 
13th  of  December  from  Hampton  roads,  under  the  com 
mand  of  General  Butler,  accompanied  by  a  naval  squad 
ron  under  Rear-Admiral  Porter.  This  expedition  was 
unsuccessful,  and  the  troops  returned  to  City  Point ;  but 
soon  after,  a  second  expedition,  under  the  command  of 
General  A.  H.  Terry,  embarked  for  the  same  destina 
tion,  and  on  the  15th  of  January  captured  Fort  Fisher, 
'and  effectually  sealed  the  harbor  of  Wilmington.  On 
the  6th  of  February,  General  Grant  ordered  another 
movement  with  four  corps  of  the  array  to  Hatcher's 
Run,  with  the  intention  of  establishing  his  lines  in  closer 
proximity  to  the  Weldon  railroad.  The  struggle  was  a 
desperate  one,  and  on  the  second  day  the  enemy  was 
successful,  as  before,  in  finding  a  gap  in  the  Union  lines, 
through  which  he  broke,  causing  a  considerable  loss ;  but 
the  Union  soldiers  were  able  the  next  day  to  regain  the 
ground  they  had  lost  and  hold  it,  and  established  them 
selves  permanently  four  miles  in  advance  of  their  pre 
vious  position.  On  the  25th  of  March  the  rebels,  by  a 
sudden  attack  in  mass,  seized  Fort  Steadman,  near  Pe 
tersburg,  and  captured  the  garrison;  but  the  Union 
troops  rallying  promptly,  retook  the  fort,  and  drove  the 
rebels  back  into  and  beyond  their  lines,  and  -the  Sixth 


OUR   GBEAT   CAPTAINS. 

and  Second  corps  advancing  at  the  same  time,  gained 
and  held  a  portion  of  their  lines.  The  Union  loss  in  this 
affair  was  about  2,000,  that  of  the  rebels  over  6,000,  of 
whom  2,800  were  prisoners. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  the  Union  army  was,  by  Gen 
eral  Grant's  order,  put  in  motion,  with  a  view  to  occupy 
ing  the   Southside  Railroad.     For  this  purpose,  he  or 
dered  General  Sheridan,  on  the  29th  of  March,  to  move 
with  his  cavalry  force,  returned  three  days  before  from 
the  great  raid,  by  way  of  Reams'  Station  to  Dinwiddie 
Courthouse,  and,  threatening  the  Southside  Railroad  in 
the  direction   of  Burkesville  Junction,  compel  Lee   to 
send  a  force  westward  to  protect  it,  and  the  Second  and 
Fifth  corps,  as  in  the  previous   attacks  upon  the  line  of 
the  Southside  Railroad,  to  cross  by  the  Vaughan  and 
Halifax  roads,  Hatcher's  Run,  and'endeavor  to  gain  pos 
session  of  the  Boydton  plank-road.     The  movement  was 
on  a  larger  scale  than  any  previous  one  ;  and  the  weak 
ness  of  the  enemy,  as  developed  in  the  Fort  Stedman  * 
affair,  gave  promise  of  success.     Portions  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  and  Twenty-fifth  corps,  under  command  of  Gen 
eral  Ord,  were   brought  across  the  river,  and  stationed 
along  the  line  of  the  Vaughan  road  to  maintain  the  con 
nection   between   the    Sixth  and    Second   corps,  in  full 
strength.     The  first   day  the  movements  were  all  suc 
cessful.      The    cavalry   reached   Dinwiddie;    the    Fifth 
corps  had  a  sharp  fight  for  the  possession  of  the  Quaker 
road,  but  drove  back  the  enemy;  the  Second  corps  had 
very  little  fighting.      The   30th  of  March  also  passed 
without  serious  fighting,  and  the  Fifth  corps  had  taken 
position  on  the  White  Oak  road  and  the  Boydton  plank- 
road,  the  Second  corps  being  near  and  within  supporting 
distance.     On  the  3 1st,  the  Fifth  corps,  attempting  to  ad- 
vance   on   the  White  Oak   road,  towards   Five   Forks 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

where  the  enemy  were  intrenched  in  large  force,  was 
met  and  attacked  by  a  heavy  body  of  rebel  troops,  and 
Crawford's  and  Ayres'  divisions  driven  back  in  disorder 
to  the  Boydton  plank-road,  where  Griffin's  division  still 
held  its  position.  Meantime  Miles's  division  of  the  Sec 
ond  corps,  witnessing  the  rapid  retreat,  moved  forward 
promptly,  and  striking  the  enemy  in  flank  drove  them 
back ;  and  Griffin,  with  so  much  of  Ayres'  and  Craw 
ford's  divisions  as  could  be  rallied,  following  and  attack 
ing  the  rebels,  forced  them  back,  till  at  nightfall  the 
Fifth  corps  occupied  nearly  the  same  position  as  in  the 
morning.  But  this  temporary  repulse  had  opened  a 
passage  through  which  another  division  of  the  rebel 
forces  flung  themselves  with  great  fury  upon  Sheridan's 
cavalry,  cutting  off  for  a  time  Merritt's  division  from  the 
remainder  of  the  cavalry,  and  imperilling  the  whole. 
General  Sheridan,  however,  took  the  command  in  per 
son,  and  rallying  his  troops,  and  placing  them  dismounted 
behind  temporary  barricades,  succeeded  in  repulsing  the 
attacks  of  the  rebels,  and  compelling  them  to  desist. 
When  it  was  too  dark  for  longer  fighting  both  forces 
bivouacked  on  their  arms,  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  each  other. 

The  commander  of  the  Fifth  corps,  General  G.  K. 
Warren,  had  been  ordered  to  report  to  General  Sheridan 
at  midnight,  March  31st,  and  General  Grant  had  notified 
General  Sheridan  that  he  would  do  so.  The  cavalry 
commander  was  anxious  for  his  assistance  early,  as  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  defeat  the  rebels  before  him, 
and  driving  them  westward  to  carry  Five  Forks  by  as 
sault,  the  next  day.  As  he  did  not  appear,  General 
Sheridan  addressed  him  a  note,  dated  3  A.M.April  1st, 
requesting  him  to  attack  the  rebel  force,  then  in  his 
front,  in  the  rear  at  daylight,  and  he  would  attack  them 


GENERAL     GRANT. 


87 


in  front  at  the  same  time.  General  Warren  made  no  an 
swer,  but  did  not  attack.  Sheridan,  however,  assailed 
them  at  the  time  appointed,  and  drove  them  west  of 
Chamberlain's  Creek,  and  between  7  and  8  o'clock  found 
Warren  near  J.  Boisseau's  house,  four  or  five  miles  north 
of  Dinwiddie.  He  now  directed  him  to  be  ready  to 
move  on  the  enemy  when  he  should  receive  orders, 
and  himself  proceeded  to  invest  Five  Forks  on  two 
sides  with  his  cavalry,  and  a  little  after  noon  ordered 
up  the  Fifth  corps  to  attack  on  the  east  side.  General 
Warren  moved  with  apparent  reluctance,  and  infused  no 
confidence  into  his  men ;  and  though  the  intrenchments 
were  finally  carried,  and  the  enemy  routed  and  driven 
westward,  General  Sheridan  was  so  much  dissatisfied 
with  General  Warren  that  he  relieved  him  of  his  com 
mand,  as  General  Grant  had  authorized  him  to  do,  and 
put  General  Griffin  in  his  place.  The  next  day  the  ene 
my  were  driven  by  Miles'  division  of  the  Second  corps, 
and  Crawford's  and  Ayres'  of  the  Fifth,  from  a  strong 
position  which  they  held  at  the  junction  of  the  White 
Oak  and  Claiborne  roads,  and  pursued  to  Sutherland's 
Station  on  the  Southside  Railroad,  and  thence  by  a  front 
and  rear  attack  to  the  river  road  along  the  banks  of  the 
Appomattox. 

Meantime  the  troops  which  manned  the  lines  around 
Petersburg  had  kept  up  a  frequent  and  heavy  bombard 
ment  along  the  lines,  and  on  the  2d  of  April  the  Sixth 
and  Ninth  corps  and  the  provisional  corps  assaulted  the 
fortifications  with  great  fury,  and  after  a  short  but  se 
vere  struggle  broke  through  to  the  Southside  Railroad, 
and  commenced  tearing  it  up.  They  captured  many 
prisoners  and  guns  in  this  bold  assault,  and  of  course 
rendered  both  Richmond  and  Petersburg  untenable. 
During  the  night  both  were  evacuated,  and  were  occa- 


88 


OTJK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


pied   on.  the   morning   of  the   3d   of  April  by  Union 
troops. 

Not  delaying  to  enter  the  captured  cities,  General 
Grant  pressed  on  to  capture  the  rebel  general  and  his 
army.  The  pursuit  was  unremitting,  and  after  actions 
of  greater  or  less  extent  at  Deep  Creek,  Paine's  Cross 
roads,  Deatonsville,  Farmville,  and  High  Bridge  over 
the  Appomattox,  and  Appomattox  Station,  the  rebels 
leaving  at  each  point  artillery,  wagons,  and  sup 
plies,  on  the  9th  of  April  General  Lee  surrendered  his 
army  to  General  Grant.  The  terms  granted  by  the  con 
queror  were  liberal  in  the  extreme.  They  were  as  fol 
lows  : 

"Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  dupli 
cate  ;  one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  designated  by 
General  Grant,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officers 
as  General  Lee  should  designate.  The  officers  to  give 
their  individual  paroles  not  to  take  arms  against  the 
United  States  until  properly  exchanged,  and  each  com 
pany  or  regimental  commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for 
the  men  of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and 
public  property  to  be  packed  and  stacked,  and  turned 
over  to  the  officer  appointed  by  General  Grant  to  re 
ceive  them.  This  not  to  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the 
officers,  nor  their  private  horses  or  baggage.  This  done, 
each  officer  and  man  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  their 
homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authority 
so  long  as  they  observe  their  parole  and  the  laws  in  force 
where  they  may  reside." 

The  surrender  perfected,  though  its  provisions  were 
much  abused,  General  Grant  passed  through  Richmond, 
and  thence  to  Washington,  whence  on  the  evening  of 
April  14th  he  took  the  train  for  Philadelphia  to  visit  his 
family,  and  while  on  his  way  was  overtaken  by  the  sad 


GENERAL  GRANT. 


89 


intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  the  President,  and  re 
turned  immediately  to  the  capital. 

Meanwhile,  with  that  comprehensive  grasp  of  mind 
which  characterize^  him,  and  that  admirable  perception 
of  character  which  has  always  enabled  him,  when  the 
choice  was  his,  to  select  the  men  best  adapted  for  carry 
ing  out  his  plans,  General  Grant  had  been  directing,  in 
other  quarters  of  the  vast  territory  of  the  Union,  impor 
tant  movements,  all  tending  to  the  one  end  of  crushing 
the  rebellion.  Under  his  suggestion,  General  Sherman 
had  made  his  famous  campaign  of  sixty  days  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  flanking  Charleston  and  compelling  its  surrender, 
capturing  Columbia,  Cheraw,  Fayetteville,  and,  in  con 
cert  with  Schoiield  and  Terry  (who  had  joined  him  after 
capturing  the  city  of  Wilmington),  Goldsborough ;  and 
having,  after  a  fortnight's  delay  to  recruit,  moved  for 
ward,  had  added  Smithfield  and  Raleigh  to  his  captures, 
and  held  Johnston  in  a  position  where  he  must  surrender. 
At  the  West,  General  Thomas  had  sent  a  magnificent 
cavalry  force  under  General  Wilson  to  capture  Selma, 
Montgomery,  Columbus,  GaM  West  Point,  Macon,  etc. ; 
an  infantry  force  to  aid  General  Canby  in  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  Gulf;  Schofield  and  the  Army  of  the  Ohio 
to  assist  in  the  reduction  of  Wilmington  ;  and  finally, 
Stoneman,  with  a  large  body  of  cavalry,  through  South 
west  Virginia  and  Western  North  Carolina,  to  attack 
Johnston  and  Lee  in  the  rear ;  and  this  force,  having 
thoroughly  broken  the  Virginia  and  East  Tennessee 
Railroad,  had  struck  the  North  Carolina  Railroad  above 
Salisbury,  captured  that  place  with  all  its  stores,  released 
its  prisoners,  and  effectually  barred  Johnston's  further 
retreat.  In  the  Southwest,  General  Canby,  acting  under 
his  direction,  in  concert  with  the  fleet  under  Admiral 
H.  K.  Thatcher,  had,  after  a  siege  of  about  two  weeks, 

8* 


90 


OUR    GKEAT   CAPTAINS. 


captured  Spanish  Fort,  Blakely,  and  Mobile,  the  sun-en 
der  being  made  on  the  12th  of  April. 

The  last  sad  funeral  rites  for  the   martyred  President 
were  hardly  passed,  when  a  special  mtssenger  from  Gen 
eral  Sherman  brought  to  Washington   a  memorandum 
for  a  treaty  between   the  rebel  General  Johnston  and 
himself;  for  a  complete  cessation  of  hostilities  and  surren 
der  by  all  the  armies  of  the  rebels.     A  Cabinet  meeting 
was  called,  and  although  the  consummation  was  greatly 
to  be  desired,  the  terms  of  the  memorandum  were  found 
objectionable,  and  it  was  disapproved.     Convinced  that 
General  Sherman's  error  was  not  the  result  of  ambition 
or  disloyalty,  but  only  of  his  earnest  desire  to  see  the 
war  ended,  General  Grant  went  immediately  to  Raleigh, 
incog.,  and   after  consultation   with   General   Shermtn^ 
finding  Johnston  desirous  of  surrendering  on  the  terms 
which  he  had  granted  to  Lee,  directed  General  Sherman 
to  make  those  terms  to  the  rebel  general,  and  accept  the 
surrender  without  any  reference  to  his-  presence.     This 
matter  settled,  he  returned  to  Washington,  where  a  few 
days  later  he  received  the  intelligence  of  the  capture  of 
the  rebel  President.     After  flying  visits  to  New  York, 
West  Point,  Chicago,  etc.,  he  has  returned  to  the  abun 
dant  and  wearisome,  though  necessary  labors  attending 
the  reduction  of  the  army  and  the  return  of  peace. 

In  person  General  Grant  is  rather  below  the  middle 
size,  but  of  firm,  well-knit  figure,  with  a  pleasant  counte 
nance,  a  firmly-set  mouth  and  chin,  clear  gray  eyes,  brown 
hair,  and  a  full  beard,  inclined  to  auburn.  He  smokes 
almost  incessantly ;  is  quiet,  reticent,  thoughtful,  yet  quick 
and  prompt  in  action.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  jeal 
ousy  in  his  composition.  He  accords  most  heartily  to 
his  lieutenants  all  the  honors  they  can  claim,  and  even 
turns  honors  meant  for  himself  upon  them.  A  man  oi 


91 

GENERAL    GKANT. 

less  real  greatness  and  magnanimity,  placed  in  his  position, 
would  have  winced  under  the  encomiums  showered  upon 
Sherman  and  Sheridan,  especially  when  comparisons  not 
in  his  favor  were  drawn,  as  they  have  been  ;  but  he  only 
honors  these  brave  generals  the  more.     His  resolute  un 
yielding  determination  and  perseverance  is  a  marked  iea- 
ture  of  his  character.     Even  his  wife  says,  "Mr.  Grant 
is  a  very  obstinate  man,"  though  she  would  not  for  the 
world  have  him  one  whit  less  obstinate.     He  has  never 
yet,  under  any  circumstances,  been  drawn  or  driven  into 
makino-  a  speech,  and  seldom  writes  a  long  letter,  though 
he  can  write,  as  his  reports  prove,  with  great  force  and 
clearness.     The  «  wise  man"  assures  us  that  "  greater  is 
he  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city." 
While  Lieutenant-General  Grant  has  no  mean  reputation 
as  a  captor  of  cities,  he  is  eminently  entitled  to  Solomon's 
encomium  for  that  extraordinary  self-command  which, 
tinder  all  the  trying  circumstances  in  which  he  has  been 
placed,  has  enabled  him  to  remain  calm  and  imperturbed, 
never  falling  into  a  passion,  never  lifted  into  excitement 
or  exultation.     In  this  particular  he  surpasses  Washing 
ton,  and  stands  far  above  most  of  the  great  captains  of 
the  Old  World.     A  man  thus  self-poised,  brave,  loyal, 
truthful  and  pure,  may  well  command  the  armies  of  the 
mightiest  of  Republics,  for  he  will  make  no  evil  use  of 
his  authority,  and  the  heart  of  the  nation  doth  safely 
trust  in  him. 


y 


II. 

Major-General  William  Tecumseh  Sherman 

IF  it  be  one  of  the  attributes  of  genius  to  rise  superior 
to  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  and  triumphing  over 
detraction,  depreciation,  and  abuse,  to  secure  to  itself  a 
high  place  in  the  records  of  history,  then  it  must  be  ad 
mitted  that  General  Sherman  has  given  no  doubtful 
proof  of  the  possession  of  a  high  order  of  genius.  The 
sacrifices  which  his  loyalty  had  prompted  him  to  make 
were  not  appreciated  ;  his  warnings  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  Rebellion  fell  on  inattentive  ears,  and  were  regarded 
as  the  apprehensions  of  a  distempered  imagination  ;  his 
estimate  of  the  force  necessary  for  the  successful  prose 
cution  of  the  war  at  the  West,  though  since  proved  to 
have  been  within  the  bounds  of  strict  moderation,  were 
then  considered  as  the  ravings  of  a  melancholic  mad 
man  ;  and  the  press — the  great  engine  of  power  in  this 
country — having  been  offended  in  the  person  of  some  of 
its  baser  members,  by  the  strictness  of  General  Sherman's 
discipline,  undertook,  with  full  confidence,  the  work  of 
writing  him  down.  Thenceforward,  for  many  months, 
he  was  persistently  represented  as  the  "  crazy  general," 
"  the  madman,"  the  "  lunatic ;"  as  incapable,  by  reason 
of  his  mad  fantasies,  of  any  successful  military  operation, 
or  of  commanding  any  considerable  body  of  men.  But, 
like  "  Banquo's  ghost,"  Sherman  would  not  stay  down. 
His  zeal,  loyalty,  and  success  constantly  contradicted 
the  misrepresentations  of  his  enemies,  and  the  fiercer 
their  maledictions,  the  more  he  displayed  the  resources 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


and  abilities  of  a  successful  commander.  Through  all 
this  period  of  bitter  misrepresentation,  one  man  defended 
him,  believed  in  him,  trusted  him,  and  insisted  on  his  ad 
vancement.  That  man  was  the  present  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral  U.  S.  Grant.  Never  for  a  moment  did  he  lose  hia 
confidence  in  his  abilities  and  genius;  and,  with  that  fine 
discrimination  of  character  which  is  a  marked  trait  in 
his  character,  he  insisted,  at  every  step  of  promotion 
conferred  upon  himself,  on  advancing  General  Sherman 
also,  let  who  might  oppose.  At  length,  after  more  than 
two  years'  endurance,  the  storm  of  detraction  began  to 
cease,  and  ere  long  those  who  had  been  most  virulent, 
finding  that  they  were  powerless  to  injure  him,  became 
his  most  vehement  admirers,  until  now,  it  would  be  hard 
to  find  any  who  would  acknowledge  that  they  had  ever 
spoken  disparagingly  of  one  who  has  proved  his  claim 
to  be  reckoned  among  the  ablest  generals  of  modern 
times. 

WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN,  a  son  of  the  late  Hon. 
Charles  R.  Sherman,  for  some,  years  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  and  brother  of  Hon. 
John  Sherman,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio,  was  born  in 
Lancaster,  Ohio,  February  8th,  1820.  His  education,  up 
to  his  ninth  year,  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  town;  but  on  his  father's  death,  in  1829,  he  be 
came  a  member  of  the  family  of  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing, 
and  after  enjoying  the  advantages  of  good  schools,  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  entered  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  being  a  classmate  of  Generals  George  H. 
Thomas  and  W.  Hays  of  the  Union  army,  and  of  Gen 
erals  Ewell,  McCown,  and  Bushrod  R.  Johnson  of  the 
rebel  army.  He  graduated  June  30,  1840,  ranking 
sixth  in  his  class,  and  was  immediately  appointed  second 
lieutenant  in  the  Third  Artillery,  and  ordered  to  duty  in 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  95 

Florida,  where  he  served  through  the  next  year.  In 
November,  1841,  he  was  promoted  to  a  first-lieutenancy. 
His  service  in  Florida  was  enlivened  by  some  encounters 
with  Billy  Bowlegs'  band,  in  one  of  which  he  achieved 
some  distinction  in  rescuing  his  little  squad  of  men  from 
the  utter  destruction  with  which  that  wily  savage  had 
threatened  them.  Late  in  the  year,  Lieutenant  Sherman 
was  ordered  to  Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston  harbor,  where 
he  remained  for  several  years. 

In  1846  he  was  sent  to  California,  where  he  was  made 
acting  assistant  adjutant-general,  and  performed  his 
duties  with  such  marked  ability,  that,  in  1851,  Congress 
conferred  upon  him  the  brevet  of  captain,  to  date  from 
May  30th,  1848,  "for  meritorious  services  in  California, 
during  the  war  with  Mexico."  In  1850  he  was  pro 
moted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  made  commissary 
of  subsistence,  being  assigned  to  the  staff  of  the 
commander  of  the  Department  of  the  West,  with  head 
quarters  at  St.  Louis.  He  married,  the  same  year, 
the  daughter  of  his  friend,  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing.  Soon 
after,  he  was  transferred  to  the  military  post  of  New 
Orleans,  where  he  became  acquainted  with  the  leading 
men  of  Louisiana.  In  1853,  he  resigned  his  commission 
in  the  army,  and  -removed  the  same  year  to  San  Fran 
cisco,  where  he  was  for  four  years  the  manager  of  the 
banking  house  of  Lucas,  Turner  &  Co. 

In  1857,  some  of  his  friends  in  Louisiana,  secretly,  as 
it  afterwards  appeared,  making  preparation  for  a  seces 
sion  movement,  resolved  to  establish  a  State  Military 
Academy,  and  sought  to  secure  his  services  as  president 
and  superintendent.  Their  real  object  was  carefully  con- 
cealed,  and  the  reasons  given  for  its  establishment  were, 
that  it  would  enable  them  more  readily  to  suppress  any 
insurrection  among  the  slaves ;  that  it  would  be  of  ser- 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


vice  in  preparing  them  to  repel  Indian  incursions,  which 
were  giving  trouble  in  the  adjacent  States  of  Arkansas 
and  Texas;  that  it  would  give  them  a  nucleus  for  a  mil 
itary  force  in  case  of  an  attack  by  a  foreign  enemy,  or 
should  the  acquisition  of  Mexico  become  desirable.  By 
such  plausible  arguments,  Mr.  Sherman  was  induced  to 
accept  the  presidency  of  the  Louisiana  Military  Academy, 
without  a  suspicion  of  the  treasonable  purpose  which  had 
led  to  its  establishment.  He  entered  upon  his  duties 
early  in  1858. 

Soon  after  the  cpmmencement  of  the  presidential  cam 
paign  of  1860,  he  became  convinced  of  the  disloyal  sen 
timents  of  a  majority  of  the  leading  men  of  the  State, 
and  of  the  motives  which  had  led  them  to  establish  the 
Military  Academy,  and  they  put  forth  their  utmost 
powers  of  persuasion  to  induce  him  to  unite  with  them 
in  their  revolutionary  schemes.  The  thoroughness  with 
which  he  had  trained  his  pupils,  and  his  cool,  calm,  sol 
dierly  bearing,  had  convinced  them  of  his  value  to  their 
cause  if  he  could  once  be  induced  to  join  it.  For  this 
purpose  they  unfolded  their  plans,  and  sought  by  the 
offer  of  high  military  position  to  win  him  from  his  alle 
giance.  It  was  all  in  vain.  Manly,  honest,  straight 
forward,  and  thoroughly  loyal,  neither  the  love  of  gold 
or  fame  could  cause  him  to  swerve  for  an  instant  from 
his  duty  to  his  country.  Convinced  that  war  was  in 
evitable,  he  dispatched  the  following  letter  to  the  chief 
magistrate  of  Louisiana  on  the  day  of  its  date ; 

JANUARY  18, 1861. 
GOVERNOR  THOMAS  O.  MOORE, 

BATON  ROUGE,  LA. 

^  SIR— As  I   occupy  a  quasi-rmli^rj   position    under 
this  State,  I  deem  it  proper  to  acquaint  you  that  I  ac- 


GENERAL   SHERMAN. 

cepted  such  position  when  Louisiana  was  a  State  in  the 
Union,  and  when  the  motto  of  the  seminary  was  inserted 
in  marble  over  the  main  door,  "By  the  hberahty  of  the 
General  Government  of  the  United  States.     The  Umon 
Esto  Perpetua."      Recent  events  foreshadow   a  gre 
change,  and  it  becomes  all  men  to  choose.     If  Louisiana 
withdraws  from  the  Federal  Union,  Jprefer  to  maintain 
my  allegiance  to  the  old  Constitution  as  long  as  ft  frag 
ment  of  it  survives,  and  my  longer  stay  here  would  b 
Wromr  in  every  sense  of  the  word.     In  that  event,  I  beg 
you  will  send  or  appoint  some  authorized  agent  to  take 
charge  of  the  arms  and  munitions  of  war  here  belonging 
to  the  State,  or  direct  me  what  disposition   should  1 
made  of  them.     And  furthermore,  as  President  ot 
Board  of  Supervisors,  I  beg  you  to  take  immediate  steps 
to  relieve  me  as  Superintendent,  the  moment  the  State 
determines  to  secede  ;  for  on  no  earthly  account  will  1 
do  any  act,  or  think  any  thought,  hostile  to  or  in  c 
fiance  of  the  old  Government  of  the  United  States. 
With  great  respect,  &c., 

(Signed)  W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

there  spoke  the  true  hero  and  patriot,  «  On  no  earthly 
account  will  I  do  any  act,  or  think  any  thought  hostile 
to  or  in  defiance  of  the  old  Government  of  the  United 
States  »     The  same  principle  has  actuated  him  in  all  hi 
subsequent   career.     Other  generals,  both  in  the  East 
and  the  West,  have  been  suspected  of  disloyal  leanings; 
but  even  the  bitterest  detractors  of  General  Sherman 
have  never  dared  to  whisper  the  slightest  hint  o 
loyalty  in  connection  with  his  name. 

His  resignation  was  accepted,  for  what  could  the 
rebels  do  with  a  man  who  was  so  thoroughly  and  deter- 
minedly  loyal?  He  removed  in  February  with  1 


98 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


family  to   St.  Louis,  and  shortly  before  the   attack  on 
Fort   Sumter  visited  Washington.      Here   he  found,  to 
use  his  own  language,  that  "the  men  in  authority  were 
sleeping   on   a  volcano,  which  would   surely  burst  upon 
them  unprepared."      Thoroughly  conversant  as  he  was 
with  the  intentions  and  plans  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebel 
lion,  he  was  astonished  at  the  apathy  and  incredulity  of 
the  Government  on   the   subject.     None  of  the  Cabinet 
believed  that  there  was  to  be  any  serious   conflict.     At 
most,   they  thought   it   would  be  an  affair  of  sixty  or 
ninety  days.     Sherman  knew  better,  and  in  the  hope  of 
arousing  the  Government  to  action   before  it  should   be 
too  late,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  General  Cameron,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  in' which   he  forewarned  him   in   the 
most  earnest  language  of  the  imminency  of  war  and  the 
entire  want  of  preparation  for  it.     He  stated  also  that 
he  was  educated  at   the  expense  of  the  United   States, 
and  feeling  that  he  owed  every  thing  to  his  country,  he 
had  come  to  tender  her  his  services   as   a   soldier.     He 
also  waited  upon  the  President,  and,  stating  to  him  his 
views,  tendered    his   services.      The    President   replied, 
laughing,  "  We  shall  not  need  many  men  like  you  ;  the 
whole  affair  will  soon  blow  over."     He  urged,  when  the 
fail  of  Sumter  came,  the  importance  of  a  gigantic  army, 
not  called  out  for  three  months,  but  for  the  war,  to  put 
down  the  rebellion  at  once,  and  denounced  the  calling  out 
of  three  months  men  as  being  as  absurd  as  the  attempt  to 
extinguish  the  flames  of  a  burning  building  with  a  squirt- 
gun.     Neither  the  Government  nor  the  people  were  then 
prepared  to  comprehend  the  justice  and  clearness  of  his 
views,  and  he  passed  for  an  ultraist.     At  the  organization 
of  the  new  regiments  of  the  regular  army  in  June,  1861, 
he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  new  13th  infantry,  his 
commission  dating  from  May  14,  1861. 


QQ 

(JENEUAL    SHERMAN. 

His  first  actual  service  in  the  war  was  at  the  battle  of 
Ball  Run,  or  Manassas,  as  the  rebels  named  it.     Colonel 
Sherman   commanded   the   third   brigade   in the  lirst 
(Tyler's)  division.     That  brigade  consisted  ot  the      in, 
69th,  and  79th  New  York,  and  the  2d  Wisconsm  in 
fantry  regiments,  and  Ayres'  regular  battery-all  troops 
since  renowned  for  their  gallantry.     There  have  been 
many  conflicting  statements  and  opinions  in  regard 
this  battle,  but  the  best  military  authorities  seem  to  have 
settled  the  point  that  the  fighting  of  that  day  was  not 
discreditable  to  either  army,  composed  as  both  were  oi 
raw  troops.     It  is  evident  from  the  reports  of  the  rebel 
commanders  that  they  themselves  regarded  the  day  as 
lost,    till   the   unexpected    arrival  of  Johnston's  troops 
turned  the  scale,  and  communicating  a  sudden  panic  to 
the  Union  troops,  who  had  previously  fought  well,  I 
to  that  disgraceful  rout  which  has  made  that  day  in 
famous.     But  whatever  may  be  thought  or  said  of  the 
fitting  of  other  portions  of  the  army,  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  Sherman's  brigade  fought  with  desperate 
and  determined  valor.     "  A  part  of  Hunter's  and  Hemt- 
zelman's  divisions,"  says  Major-General  McDowell  in  his 
report,  "forced  the   enemy  back  far  enough  to  Callow 
Sherman's  and  Reyes's  brigades  of  Tyler's  division  to 
cross  from  their  positions  on  the  Warrenton  road.   Thes 
drove  the  right  of  the  enemy,  understood  to  have  been 
commanded  by  Beauregard,  from  the  front  of  the  fl, 
and  out  of  the  detached  woods,  and  down  the  road,  and 
across  it,  up  the   slopes  on  the  other  side"     They  did 
more  than  this:  pressing  forward,  they  came  upon  an 
elevated  ridge  or  plateau,  where  occurred  the  severest 
fighting  of  'the  day.     Sherman  led  his  brigade  directly 
up  the  Warrenton  road,  and  held  his  ground  till  the 
general  order  came  to  retreat.    Colonel  Bowman,  m  a 


100 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


biographical  sketch  of  General  Sherman  in  the  UU.  S. 
Service    Magazine,"    mentions    an    incident    connected 
with  tins  battle  which  we  have  not  seen  elsewhere.     It 
was  as  follows.     The  order  given  to  Tyler's  division  was 
to  cross  Bull  Run  when  possible,  and  join  Hunter  on  the 
right.     In  obeying  this  order,  Sherman  led  off,  with  the 
69th   New  York  in  advance.     On  their  march  they  en 
countered  a  party  of  the  enemy  retreating  along  a  clus 
ter  of  pines;   and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Haggerty,  then  in 
command  of  the  69th,  rode  over,  without  orders,  to  inter- 
cept  their  retreat,  and  was  instantly  killed  by  the  enemy's 
fire.     Haggerty  was  much  beloved  by  his  men,  and  they, 
furious  at  his  loss,  sprang  forward  and  opened  fire,  which 
was  returned.     "  But,"  says  Colonel   Sherman,  "  deter- 
mined  to  effect  our  junction  with  Hunter's  division,  I 
ordered  the  fire  to  cease,  and  we  proceeded  with  caution 
towards  the  field,  where  we  then  plainly  saw  our  forces 
engaged."     Burnside,  then   a  colonel  commanding  one 
of  the  brigades  in   Hunter's  division,  was  at  this  time 
sorely  pressed  and  nearly  overwhelmed  by  the  enemy 
and  was  only  relieved  by  the  timely  advent  of  Sherman's 
brigade,  which  under  his  orders  turned  not  aside  either 
to  the  right  hand  or  the  left,  till  the  orders  it  had   re 
ceived  were  obeyed.     "  It  was  Sherman's  brigade,"  says 
Burnside,  "that  arrived  about  twelve-and-a-half  o'clock, 
and  by  a  most  deadly  fire  assisted  in  breaking  the  enemy's 
lines."     The  promptness  and   strict  obedience  to  orders 
whicli  characterized  Sherman's  conduct  on  that  day  have 
been  marked  traits  in  his  subsequent  career. 

The  vigor  and  determination  with  which  Colonel 
Sherman  fought  his  brigade  on  this  occasion,  made  their 
share  of  the  losses  much  heavier  than  those  of  any  other 
brigade  in  the  Union  army;  his  total  of  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing,  being  six  hundred  and  nine,  while  that  of 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


the  whole  division  was  but  eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine, 
and  of  the  entire  army,  aside  from  prisoners  and  strag- 
lers,  but  fifteen  hundred  and  ninety.  The  flight  of  the 
panic-stricken  fugitives  towards  Washington  disgusted 
Colonel  Sherman,  and  he  was  very  severe  in  his  denunci 
ations  of  the  militia  officers,  especially  those  in  his  own 
command,  for  their  part  in  the  panic.  Conscious  of  their 
misconduct,  some  of  these  officers  resented  his  rebukes, 
and  sought  to  injure  his  reputation.  The  Ohio  delega 
tion  in  Congress  having  learned  the  good  conduct  and 
valor  of  Colonel  Sherman,  urged  his  promotion,  and  on 
the  3d  of  August  he  was  confirmed  a  brigadier-general 
of  volunteers,  his  commission  dating  from  May  17th, 
1861. 

Early  in  August,  General  Anderson  having  been  as- 
signed  to  the  command  of  the  department  of  the  Ohio, 
General  Sherman  was  made  second  in  command,  and 
sent  soon  afterwards  with  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men, 
composed  of  volunteers  and  Kentucky  home-guards,  to 
occupy  Muldraugh's  hill,  a  point  of  considerable  strategic 
importance,  south  of  the  Rolling  fork  of  Salt  river.  The 
home-guards  which  there,  as  elsewhere,  proved  entirely 
unreliable,  soon  abandoned  his  camp  for  their  homes,  and 
the  reinforcements  intended  to  strengthen  his  command 
were  sent  elsewhere.  He  now  found  himself  with  only 
five  thousand  troops,  badly  armed,  and  in  an  unfriendly 
region,  confronted  by  the  rebel  General  Buckner  with  a 
rebel  force  of  twenty-five  thousand  men.  While  affairs? 
were  in  this  discouraging  condition,  General  Anderson's 
health  failed  so  completely,  that  he  resigned,  and,  on  the 
8th  of  October,  General  Sherman  was  appointed  his  suc 
cessor. 

In  no  part  of  the  country,  and  at  no  time  during  the 
war,  were  the  prospects  more  gloomy  than  in  the  depart- 
9* 


OUfi    GEEAT   CAPTAINS. 

ment  of  the  Ohio  at  this  period.     The  greater  part  of 
the  population  of  Kentucky  capable  of  bearing  arms  had 
joined   the  rebel  army.      Those  who   remained   behind 
were  divided  in  sentiment,  but  most  of  them,  from  one 
cause  or   another,  unfriendly.     The   force  at  Sherman's 
command  was  wholly  inadequate,  and  what  he  had  were 
poorly  armed.      He  was  deficient  also  in  munitions  of 
war,  and  in  the  means  of  transportation,  while  in  his 
front  were  rebel  forces  outnumbering  his  own  at  almost 
every  point,  well  supplied  and  confident  of  success.      If 
the  rebel  generals  had  known  his  actual  condition,  they 
could  have  captured  or  driven  his  forces  across  the  Ohio 
m  ten  days.     There  were  in  his  camps  numerous  news- 
paper  letter-writers,  who,  if  loyal,  were  far  from  being 
discreet,  and  whose  communications  made  public  the  very 
facts  which   it   was  all-important  to  conceal  from   the 
enemy.     These   he  excluded  from  his  lines  by  a  strin 
gent  general  order,  and  thus  brought  down  upon  his  head 
all  the  indignation  of  the  press. 

But  a  greater  cause  of  alarm  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Cameron,  utterly  failed 
to  comprehend  the  necessities  of  his  position,  or  the  im 
portance  of  holding  it.  No  one  doubts  the  loyalty  of 
General  Cameron,  but  there  can  be  no  question  that  his 
failure  to  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  the  contest,  and 
the  necessity  of  having  a  large  and  well-appointed  army 
promptly  on  the  ground,  to  meet  and  crush  out  the  re 
bellion  during  its  first  year,  was  the  means  of  protract- 
mg  it  through  the  years  which  followed.  In  the  end, 
the  result  may  be  better  for  the  nation,  but  it  reflects,' 
nevertheless,  on  the  incapacity  of  the  secretary. 

General  Sherman  had  an  interview  with  Secretary 
Cameron,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  in  October,  in  pres 
ence  of  Adjutant-General  Thomas.  In  this  interview,  he 


1  (V* 
GENERAL   SHEKMAN. 

explained  to  the  Secretary  the   critical  situation  of  ha 
command,  and  the  numbers  and  condition  of  the  enemy  s 
troops,  and  to  the  question  what  force  was  necessary  tor 
a  forward  movement  in  his  department,  which  then  in 
cluded  all  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  west  of  the  AU« 
ghanies,  he  replied  promptly,  "Two  hundred  thousand 
men  "     "  The  answer,"  says  Colonel  Bowman,     was  the 
inspiration  or  the  judgment  of  a  military  genius,  but  t 
the  mind  of  Mr.  Secretary  Cameron,  it  was  the  prophecy 
of  a  false   wizard,"   or,   we   may   add,  the  raving  of  a 
maniac.      The    secretary    and   the   adjutant-general    at 
once  pronounced  Sherman  crazy,  and  made  themselves 
merry  over  his  extravagant  demands,  which  the  adjutant- 
general  was  so  indiscreet  as  to  repeat  and  allow  to  find 
itg  way    into   print,  together   with   the   details   of  the 
strength  of  Sherman's  position,  thus  informing  the  « 
of  the  weakness  of  his  lines. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  General  Sherman  telegraphed 
to  General  McClellan,  then  general-in-chief,  deta.lmg  the 
position  and  number  of  his  several  forces,  showing  that 
everywhere,  except  at  a  single  point,  they  were  outnum 
bered  and  concluded  his  dispatch  with  the  remark, 
forces  are  too  small  to  do  any  good,  and  too  large  to  be 
sacrificed."    In  reply,  General  McClellan  inquired 
long  could  McCook  (one   of  Sherman's  generals)  keep 
Buckner    out  of  Louisville,  holding   the  railroad,   with 
power  to  destroy  it  inch  by  inch?"     Here  was  no  hint 
of  any  intention  of  sending  reinforcements,  but  a  proba 
ble  purpose  of  abandoning  Kentucky.     Sherman,  with 
that  sensitiveness  which  is  peculiarly  the  attribute  of  a 
gallant  soldier,  felt  that  he  had  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  the  WarDepartment  by  his  frankness  and  his  estimate 
of  the  power  and  capacity  of  the  enemy,  and  that,  unde, 
the  circumstances,  he  could  not  conduct  the  campa.gn 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

successfully;  he  therefore  asked  to  be  relieved,  and  was 
succeeded  by  General  Buell,  who  was  at  once  reinforced 
and  enabled  to  hold  his  defensive  position  till  Grant  was 
ready  to  move  in  the  spring. 

Meantime,  the  press  had  revenged  itself  upon  Sher 
man  by  pronouncing  him  crazy,  and  he  was  shelved  by 
being   put  in  command  of  Benton  barracks,   near   St 
Louis.      Not    long    after,    General   Halleck   succeeded 
.eneral  Fremont  in  command  of  the  Western  Depart 
ment,  and  he  was  too  good  a  judge  of  character  to  allow 
a  man  of  General  Sherman's  abilities  to  be  detained  as 
the  commandant  of  recruiting  barracks.     He  was  accord- 
ingly  detailed  .to  forward    reinforcements  and  supplies 
from  Paducah  to  General  Grant,  then  engaged  in  the 
siege  of  Fort  Donelson,  and  after  the  capture  of  that 
stronghold,  he  was  put  in  command  of  the  Fifth  division 
of  Grant's  army,  and  with  it  went  into  camp  at  Pitts- 
burg  Landing.     The  Fifth  division  was  composed  almost 
wholly  of    raw  troops,  who  had  never  been  under  fire 
In  the  short  period  which  elapsed  before  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  the  men  were  drilled  and  trained  as  well  as  tim, 
would  permit,  but  they  were  still  but  indifferently  pre~ 
pared  for  the  fierce  battle  which  was  so  soon  to  come 
When  the    battle    of  Shiloh  commenced,  April  6th, 

II  , \  r6?  Shel™an  had  jUSt  taken  his  lotion  at 
Shiloh  church,  three  miles  out  from  the  landing,  on  the 
mam  road  to  Corinth.  He  was  strongly  and  advanta 
geously  posted.  His  first  line  of  battle  was  formed  on 
the  brow  of  a  hill,  or  rather  a  ridge,  on  the  west  of  Lick 
and  Owl  creeks,  which  served  as  a  natural  fortification. 
The  men,  by  lying  down  or  falling  back  a  few  steps 
were  well  covered,  and  by  rising  and  advancing  a  few 
paces  could  deliver  their  fire  with  terrible  effect  The 
rebel  commanders  soon  appreciated  the  fact  that  this 


GENERAL    SUKEMAN.  105 

position  must  be  carried  at  all  hazards  if  they  would  win 
the  day.  Hence  their  assaults  upon  it  were  well-directed, 
rapid,  and  persistent.  A  part  of  Sherman's  regiments 
were  panic-stricken,  broke,  and  fled  ;  but  this  he  had 
expected  and  was  not  disconcerted  by  it,  and  rallying 
the  remainder,  he  fought  the  enemy  undismayed  through 
the  day,  and  at  4  p.  M.,  deliberately  made  a  new  line 
behind  McArthur's  drill-field,  placing  batteries  on  chosen 
ground,  where  he  could  protect  a  bridge  which  it  was 
necessary  for  General  Lew.  Wallace's  division,  then  every 
moment  expected,  to  cross,  and  here  repelled  the  assaults 
of  the  enemy  and  drove  them  back.  General  Grant 
visited  him  twice  that  day,  approved  of  his  movements, 
and  directed  him  to  assume  the  offensive  at  daylight  the 
next  day.  He  did  so,  and  after  some  severe  fighting, 
the  rebels  were  compelled  to  retreat.  On  the  morning 
of  the  8th  of  April,  he  made  a  reconnoissance  with  his 
division  along  the  Corinth  road,  met  and  drove  from 
their  position  a  considerable  force  of  rebel  cavalry,  and 
captured  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  large  quantities  of 
arms,  ammunition,  &c.  But  it  was  not  merely  by  his  ad 
mirable  management  of  his  division  that  he  saved  the 
day.  Colonel  Bowman  well  says  of  his  conduct  in  that 
battle,  "  There  was  not  a  commanding  general  on  the 
field  who  did  not  rely  on  Sherman,  and  look  to  him  as 
our  chief  hope ;  and  there  is  no  question  that  but  for 
him  our  army  would  have  been  destroyed.  He  rode 
from  place  to  place,  directing  his  men  ;  he  selected  from 
time  to  time  the  positions  for  his  artillery  ;  he  dismounted 
and  managed  the  guns ;  he  sent  suggestions  to  com 
manders  of  divisions;  he  inspired  everybody  with  confi 
dence;  and  yet  it  never  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  ac 
complished  any  thing  worthy  of  remark." 

General  Nelson,  himself  a  division  commander  in  that 


106  OUR    GRKAT    CAPTAINS. 

battle,  said,  "During  eight  hours,  the  fate  of  the  army 
on  the  field  of  Shiloh  depended  upon  the  life  of  one  man  ; 
if  General  Sherman  had  fallen,  the  army  would  have 
been  captured  or  destroyed."  General  Halleck,  who  ar 
rived  on  the  field  two  or  three  days  after  the  battle, 
said,  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  "It  is  the 
unanimous  opinion  here  that  Brigadier-General  Sherman 
saved  the  fortunes  of  the  day  ;  he  was  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight,  had  three  horses  killed  under  him,  and  was 
twice  wounded." 

General  Grant,  in  his  report  of  April  9th,  1862,  speaks 
of  his  services  as  follows :  "I  feel  it  a  duty,  however,  to 
a  gallant  and  able  officer,  Brigadier-General  W.  T. 
Sherman,  to  make  a  special  mention  of  his  services.  He 
not  only  was  with  his  command  during  the  entire  two 
days  of  the  action,  but  displayed  great  judgment  and 
skill  in  the  management  of  his  men.  Although  severely 
wounded  in  the  hand  on  the  first  day,  his  place  was 
never  vacant.  He  was  again  wounded,  and  had  three 
horses  killed  under  him."  Again,  after  the  capture  of 
Vicksburg,  under  date  of  July  26,  1863,  General  Grant 
wrote  to  the  War  Department,  of  General  Sherman  : 
"  At  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  on  the  first  day,  he  held,  with 
raw  troops,  the  key-point  of  the  landing.  It  is  no  dis 
paragement  to  any  other  officer  to  say,  that  I  do  not  be 
lieve  there  was  another  division-commander  on  the  field 
who  had  the  skill  and  experience  to  have  done  it.  To 
his  individual  efforts  I  am  indebted  for  the  success  of 
that  battle." 

A  cavalry  officer,  who  was  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
gives  some  interesting  incidents  of  his  bearing  on  that 
day,  in  a  communication  quoted  by  Colonel  Bowman. 
"Having,"  he  says,  "occasion  to  report  personally  to 
General  Sherman,  about  noon  of  the  first  day  at  Shiloh, 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  107 

I  found  him  dismounted,  his  arm  in  a  sling,  his  hand 
bleeding,  his  horse  dead,  himself  c&vered  with  dust,  his 
face  besmeared  with  powder  and  blood.  He  was  giving 
directions  at  the  moment  to  Major  Taylor,  his  chief  of 
artillery,  who  had  just  brought  a  battery  into  position. 
Mounted  orderlies  were  coming  and  going  in  haste ; 
staff  officers  were  making  anxious  inquiries;  everybody 
but  himself  seemed  excited.  The  battle  was  raging 
terrifically  in  every  direction.  Just  then  there  seemed 
to  be  unusual  commotion  on  our  right,  where  it  was  ob 
served  our  men  were  giving  back.  '  I  was  looking  for 
that,'  said  Sherman;  'but  I  am  ready  for  them.'  His 
quick,  sharp  eyes  flashed,  and  his  war-begrimed  face 
beamed  with  satisfaction.  The  enemy's  packed  columns 
now  made  their  appearance,  and  as  quickly  the  guns 
which  Sherman  had  so  carefully  placed  in  position  began 
to  speak.  The  deadly  effect  on  the  enemy  was  apparent. 
While  Sherman  was  still  managing  the  artillery,  Major 
Sanger,  a  staff-officer,  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  enemy's  cavalry  were  charging  towards  the  battery. 
4  Order  up  those  two  companies  of  infantry,'  was  the 
quick  reply  ;  and  the  general  coolly  went  on  with  his 
guns.  The  cavalry  made  a  gallant  charge,  but  their 
horses  carried  back  empty  saddles.  The  enemy  was 
evidently  foiled.  Our  men,  gaining  fresh  courage,  ral 
lied  again,  and  for  the  first  time  that  day,  the  enemy 
was  held  stubbornly  in  check.  A  moment  more,  and  he 
fell  back  over  the  piles  of  his  dead  and  wounded." 

During  the  advance  upon  Corinth  which  followed  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  Sherman's  division  was  continually  in 
the  lead,  and  carried,  occupied,  and  reintrenched  seven 
distinct  rebel  camps.  On  the  30th  of  May,  1862,  Beau 
regard  retreated  from  Corinth,  and  it  was  occupied  the 
same  day  by  Sherman's  division.  "  His  services  as 


108  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

division  commander  in  the  advance  on  Corinth,"  writes 
General  Grant,  "  I  will  venture  to  say,  were  appreciated 
by  the  now  gen eral-in- chief  (General  Halleck)  beyond 
those  of  any  other  division  commander."  At  the  earnest 
request  of  Generals  Halleck  and  Grant,  General  Sherman 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general  of  Volun 
teers,  to  date  from  May  1st,  1862. 

On  the  20th  of  June  he  advanced  from  Corinth  and 
captured  the  important  post  of  Holly  Springs,  Missis 
sippi,  thoroughly  destroying  trestle-bridges  and  track  on 
the  Mississippi  Central  railroad,  so  as  to  prevent  any 
sudden  approach  of  the  enemy. 

Memphis,  which  had  surrendered  to  our  naval  forces 
in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  was  now  in  General  Grant's 
department,  was  in  a  sad  condition.  Around  it,  in  all 
directions,  a  guerilla  warfare  raged  furiously,  and  the 
city  itself  had  become  so  thoroughly  interested  in  the 
contraband  trade  with  rebels,  that  a  prominent  rebel 
officer  avowed  his  belief  that  it  was  more  valuable  to 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal  Government  than  be 
fore  its  capture.  General  Grant  had  no  intention  of  al 
lowing  this  state  of  things  to  continue,  and  knowing 
General  Sherman's  hearty  loyalty  and  decision  of  char 
acter,  he  appointed  him  to  the  command  of  the  district 
of  Memphis,  with  an  injunction  to  suppress  both  the 
guerillas  and  the  contraband  trade.  This  was  accom 
plished  within  the  next  six  months  so  thoroughly,  that 
for  many  months  subsequent,  the  place  bore  a  high 
character  for  loyalty,  and  the  guerrillas  confined  their 
raids  to  regions  where  they  were  in  less  danger  of  losing 
their  lives. 

In  December,  1862,  General  Grant  made  the  first 
movements  in  his  operations  against  Yicksburg.  His 
first  step  was  to  appoint  General  Sherman  to  the  corn- 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  109 

mand  of  the  Fifteenth  army  corps,  and  to  direct  him  to 
make  some  reconnoissances  near  Tallahatchie  river. 
These  completed,  he  unfolded  to  him  his  plan  for  the 
capture  of  Vicksburg.  Sherman,  at  the  head  of  four 
picked  divisions,  was  to  embark  at  Memphis,  on  the  20th 
of  December,  and  rendezvous  at  Friar's  point,  and  from 
thence  move  directly  on  Vicksburg,  and  attack  it ;  while 
Grant  himself,  with  a  large  force,  was  to  proceed  down 
the  Mississippi  Central  railroad  to  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
and  hold  and  engage  the  enemy's  forces  there,  and,  these 
defeated,  move  to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg.  Holly  Springs, 
on  the  Mississippi  Central,  was  to  be  his  depot  of  sup 
plies,  and  he  had  already  accumulated  there  the  stores 
necessary  for  the  expedition.  Sherman  started  promptly 
on  the  20th,*  but  on  the  same  day  Holly  Springs  was 
attacked  by  the  enemy  under  Van  Dorn,  and  disgrace 
fully  surrendered,  and  its  stores  destroyed.  General 
Grant,  who  was  below  Holly  Springs  at  the  time,  was 


*  Sherman's  general  order  on  setting  out  with  this  expedition 
is  a  remarkable  document.  Then,  as  always,  he  was  opposed  to 
all  military  trading  expeditions,  and  to  permitting  a  motley  and 
irresponsible  herd  of  camp-followers  to  accompany  and  betray  the 
purposes  and  numbers  of  the  expedition.  The  order  was  as  fol 
lows  :  "  The  expedition  now  fitting  out  is  purely  of  a  military 
character,  and  the  interests  involved  are  of  too  important  a  nature 
to  be  mixed  up  with  personal  and  private  business.  No  citizen, 
male  or  female,  will  be  allowed  to  accompany  it,  unless  employed 
as  part  of  a  crew,  or  as  servants  to  the  transports.  No  person 
whatever— citizen,  officer,  or  sutler — will,  on  any  consideration, 
buy  or  deal  in  cotton,  or  other  produce  of  the  country.  The  trade 
in  cotton  must  wait  a  more  peaceful  state  of  affairs.  Any  person 
whatever,  making  reports  for  publication,  which  might  reach  and 
inform,  aid,  or  comfort  the  enemy,  should  be  treated  as  a  spy.  A 
citizen  following  the  expedition  in  defiance  of  the  above  orders, 
should  be  conscripted,  or  made  a  deck-hand  on  the  transports." 
10 


110  OUR    GKKAT    CAPTAINS. 

compelled  to  return  towards  Memphis,  and  accumulate 
new  supplies  before  he  could  move  forward,  and  at  the 
same  time  was  unable  to  communicate  with  Sherman. 

Unaware  of  this  failure,  Sherman  pressed  on,  and  dis- 
embarkino-  on  the  26th  and  27th  of  December  near  the 

& 

mouth  of  the  Yazoo,  ordered  a  general  advance  at  once 
upon  the  city,  and  before  night  drove  the  enemy  from 
his  outer  lines.  On  the  28th  and  29th  the  assault  was 
renewed,  and  on  the  latter  day  a  series  of  brilliant 
charges  were  made  with  the  utmost  fury.  There  have 
been  few  instances  of  as  desperate  fighting  during  the 
war.  "Blair's  brigade  in  the  advance,  emerging  from 
the  cover  of  a  cypress  forest,  came  upon  an  intricate 
abatis  of  young  trees  felled  about  three  feet  above  the 
ground,  with  the  tops  left  interlacing  in  confusion.  Be 
yond  the  abatis  was  a  deep  ditch  with  a  quicksand  at 
the  bottom,  and  several  feet  of  water  on  the  sand.  Be 
yond  the  ditch  was  a  more  impenetrable  abatis  of  heavy 
timber.  All  this  was  swept  by  a  murderous  fire  from 
the  enemy's  artillery.  Yet  through  and  over  it  all  the 
brigade  gallantly  charged,  and  drove  the  enemy  from 
his  rifle-pits,  at  the  base  of  the  centre  hill,  on  which  the 
city  lay.  Other  brigades  came  up  in  support,  and  the 
second  line  was  carried  ;  and  still  up  the  hill  pressed  the 
heroic  advance.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  The  city  was 
impregnable  to  so  small  a  force,  and  reluctantly  the 
storming  party  yielded  up  their  hardly  earned  conquests, 
Blair's  brigade  losing  one  third  of  its  men  in  the  daring 
assault.  Under  a  flag  of  truce,  Sherman  buried  his  dead 
and  cared  for  his  wounded,  and  then  promptly  re-em 
barked.  At  this  juncture  General  McClernand  arrived, 
and  assumed  command  by  virtue  of  his  priority  of  com 
mission.  Sherman  at  once  announced  the  fact  to  his 
"right  wing  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,"  praising 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


Ill 


their  zeal,  al.'icrity,  and  courage,  and  adding,  "Ours  was 
but  part  of  a  combined  movement,  in  which  others  were 
to  assist.  We  were  in  time  ;  unforeseen  contingencies 
must  have  delayed  the  others.  We  have  destroyed  the 
Shreveport  road  ;  we  have  attacked  the  defences  of 
Vicksburg,  and  pushed  the  attack  as  far  as  prudence 
would  justify ;  and  having  found  it  too  strong  for  our 
single  column,  we  have  drawn  off  in  good  order  and  in 
good  spirits,  ready  for  any  new  move.  A  new  com 
mander  is  now  here  to  lead  you.  I  know  that  all  good 
officers  and  soldiers  will  give  him  the  same  hearty  sup 
port  and  cheerful  obedience  they  have  hitherto  given 
me.  There  are  honors  enough  in  reserve  for  all,  and 
work  enough,  too." 

The  patriotism  and  manliness  of  this  order   will  be 
more  evident  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  General  Sherman 
had  just  suffered  the  mortification  of  a  repulse  for  which 
he  was  in  no  sense  blameworthy,  the  reasons  which  had 
compelled  General  Grant  to  fail  in  his  part  of  the  attack 
being  unknown  to  General  Sherman  ;  and  that  the  subor 
dinate  officers  not   cognizant   of  all  the  facts,  and  the 
newspaper  correspondents  who  had   an  old  grudge   to 
revenge,  were  heaping  undeserved  reproach  upon  him. 
There  was,  beside  this,  the  mortification   of  being  re 
quired  to  yield   his   command  to  a  man  like   General 
McClernand,  a  civilian    general,  overbearing,  ambitious, 
and  conceited,  who  never  scrupled  in  the  endeavor  to 
exalt  his  own  reputation  on  the  misfortune  of  others,  or 
to  avail  himself  of  their  plans  without  ascribing  to  them 
any  portion  of  the    credit.      Yet    Sherman    acquiesced 
gracefully  and  with  true  patriotism  in  the  change,  and 
in  handing  over  the  command  to  McClernand,  sought  to 
transfer  to  him  also  the  affection  and  good-will  of  his 
officers  and  men. 


112  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

But  time  makes  all  things  even.  This  attack  on 
Chickasaw  bluffs,  for  which  Sherman  was  denounced  in 
the  most  violent  and  unmeasured  terms  by  the  Western 
papers,  was  subsequently  fully  justified  and  approved  by 
General  Grant  in  his  report  to  the  War  Department,  in 
which  he  says :  "  General  Sherman's  arrangement  as 
commander  of  troops,  in  the  attack  on  Chickasaw  bluffs, 
last  December,  was  admirable  ;  seeing  the  ground  from 
the  opposite  side  from  the  attack,  afterwards,  I  saw  the 
impossibility  of  making  it  successful." 

The  troops  which  embarked  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yazoo,  under  the  command  of  General  McClernand, 
consisted  of  part  of  two  army  corps,  the  Fifteenth,  of 
which  Sherman  still  retained  the  command,  and  the 
Thirteenth,  which  was  properly  McClernand's.  They 
proceeded  at  once  to  Arkansas  Post,  and,  following  out 
a  plan  proposed  by  Sherman  before  the  attack  on  Chick 
asaw  bluffs,  carried  the  position,  capturing  seven  thousand 
prisoners,  several  cannon,  and  a  large  quantity  of  supplies. 

In  the  subsequent  operations  of  General  Grant  for  the 
reduction  of  the  rebel  stronghold  of  Vicksburg,  General 
Sherman  bore  a  distinguished  part.  His  first  achieve 
ment  was  the  relief  of  Admiral  Porter's  fleet  of  gunboats 
on  the  Sunflower  river.  It  had  been  a  favorite  plan  with 
General  Grant  to  reach  the  Yazoo  river  with  gunboats, 
from  some  point  above  Vicksburg,  and  descending  it  to 
Haines'  bluff,  make  an  assault  from  that  point  upon  the 
city,  which  he  believed  would  result  in  its  capture.  The 
attempt  had  been  made  through  the  Yazoo  pass,  but  had 
failed.  Admiral  Porter,  who  was  co-operating  with  Gen 
eral  Grant,  thought  he  had  discovered  another  route 
which  promised  better  success,  through  the  interlacing 
streams  which  irrigate  the  tract  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Yazoo.  He  asked  the  co-operation  of  a  skilful 


GENKRAL    SHERMAN. 


113 


and  resolute  land  force  ;    and  General  Grant  detailed 
General  Sherman,  with  one  division  of  his  Fifteenth  army 
corps      The  gunboats  pushed  on  through  Steele's  and 
Black's  bayous,  into  Deor  creek  and  Rolling   fork,   an 
affluent  of  Sunflower  river,  which  is  itself  a  tributary  oi 
the  Yazoo,  while  the  troops,  following  a  more  circuitous 
route,  were  necessarily  a  day  or  two  in  the  rear.     On 
the  21st  of  March,  the  admiral  having  entered  the  Sun 
flower  river,  found  it  full  of  obstructions,  with  formidable 
batteries  ahead,  the  enemy  in  heavy  force,  with  artillery 
in  front  and  on  both  flanks,  and  the  stream  too  narrow 
to   manoeuvre   successfully.      Fearing   that   the   enemy 
might  blockade  his  rear  by  felling  obstructions,  he  sent  a 
pressing  message  to  Sherman,  then  many  miles  distant, 
to  come  immediately  to  his  relief,  and  awaited  his  coming 
with  the  deepest  anxiety,  the  enemy  meantime  endeavor 
ing  to  pass  him  on  one  or  the  other  flank.     Sherman  re 
ceived  his  message  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
22d,  and  started  instantly  with  rather  more  than  a  brigade, 
in  a  forced  march  over  the  most  intolerable  roads,  to  re 
lieve  him.     He  pushed  on  with  the  utmost  speed ;  but 
while  yet  several  miles  distant,  a  part  of  the  rebel  force 
attempted  to  push  across  his  flank,  in  order  to  reach  the 
boats  first,  and    as  they   came   in  sight,   the   gunboats 
opened   fire  on  them.     At   the  sound   of  the    cannon, 
Sherman,  with  his  little  band,  struck  out  in  a  straight 
line  for  the  point  whence  the  firing  proceeded,  and  by 
the  greatest  urgency  brought  his  men  through  in  about 
an  hour,  and  flung  his  force  upon  the  rebels,  who,  aston 
ished  at  his  appearance,  fled  instantly.     Another  hour, 
and  the  gunboats  would  have  been  lost  inevitably.     As 
it  was,  it  required  the  utmost  skill  and  generalship  on 
the  part  of  both  commanders  to  force  their  way  back, 
with  the  goal  unattained. 


114:  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

When  General  Grant  determined  to  attack  Yicks- 
burg  from  below,  by  moving  his  force  down  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  landing  at  Grand  Gulf,  or  below, 
and  marching  first  eastward  to' Jackson,  he  confided  his 
plan  to  General  Sherman,  and  required  of  him  a  move 
ment,  by  way  of  feint,  involving  some  danger  and  re 
quiring  a  high  degree  of  military  tact.  The  Thirteenth 
and  Seventeenth  corps  (McClernand's  and  McPherson's) 
were  put  at  once  upon  the  line  of  march,  over  that  weari 
some  slough  of  mud  between  Milliken's  bend  and  Hard 
Times,  Louisiana ;  but  Sherman's  corps  was  ordered  to 
remain  at  Milliken's  bend,  and  keep  up  the  semblance  of 
siege  of  the  city  from  that  position  ;  and  when  Grant 
was  ready  to  land  his  troops  at  Bruinsburg,  he  sent  a 
dispatch  to  Sherman,  who  thereupon  embarked  his  troops 
on  transports,  and  moving  directly  on  Haines'  bluff, 
landed,  and,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  gunboats,  pre 
pared  to  assault.  The  gunboats  maintained  a  terrible 
fire  for  four  hours  to  cover  their  landing.  These  demon 
strations  were  continued  for  two  days  with  great  success. 
The  enemy  regarding  it  as  a  bona  fide  attack,  concen 
trated  almost  their  entire  force  at  Haines'  bluff,  and 
General  Grant  was  thus  enabled  to  land  his  troops  without 
opposition,  and  to  proceed  towards  Port  Gibson  without 
encountering  any  very  large  force.  This  accomplished, 
General  Sherman  made  a  forced  march  of  over  sixty 
miles  of  terrible  roads  in  six  days,  and  joined  General 
Grant  at  Grand  Gulf  on  the  6th  of  May.  The  next  day 
the  whole  army  advanced,  and  on  the  12th  Sherman's 
and  McClernand's  corps  had  some  skirmishing  at  Four 
teen  Mile  creek,  while  McPherson  fought  a  sharp  but 
successful  battle  at  Raymond.  Generals  Sherman  and 
McPherson  then  marched  by  different  routes  towards 
Jackson,  and  while  Sherman  approached  and  at- 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 

tacked  on  the  south  side,  McPherson  assailed  it  on  the 
north.     Johnston,  the   rebel   general,   planted  artillery 
and  stationed  a  small  infantry  force  under  cover  in  front 
of  Sherman,  but  massed  his  troops  against   McPherson 
Tins  ruse  General  Sherman  promptly  detected,  and  send- 
in^areconnoitering  party  to  the  right,  flanked  the  position 
ami  held  himself  in  readiness  to  support  McPherson  s  at 
tack  ;  but  after  a  sharp  battle,  that  |eneral  had  defeated 
the  rebels,  who  had  fled  northward.     Sherman  was  now 
left   at  Jackson  to  destroy  the  railroads,  bridges,  factc 
ries,  arsenals,  machine-shops,  &c,  belonging  to  the  enemy. 
He  did  this  effectually,  and,  early  on  the  16th  of  May,  re 
ceived  orders  from  General  Grant  to  move  with  all  spee 
till  he  came  up  with  the  main  forces  near  Bolton.    In  one 
hour  from  the  time  of  receiving  the  dispatch,  he  was  in  mo 
tion  with  his  troops.     On  reaching  Bolton,  he  found  that 
the  army  had  gone  on  and  fought  that  day  the  battle 
Champion  hills,  and  orders  were  left  for  him  to  go  on  to 
Bridgeport,  and  by  noon  of  the  17th  he  had  reached  that 
point     From  thence  he  assumed  the  advance,  starting 
before  dawn  of  the  18th,  crossing  the  Black  river  on  a 
pontoon  bridge,  and  marching  rapidly  towards  Vicksburg. 
Before  night  of  that  day,  by  a  rapid  detour  to  the  right, 
he  threw  himself  on  Walnut  hills,  and   compelled  then- 
evacuation  by  the  enemy,  passing  between  Snyder's  and 
Walnut  bluffs,  and  thus  cutting  the  rebel  force  in  two 
This  brilliant  manoeuvre  accomplished  two  results,  both 
of  the  greatest  importance.      It  compelled  the  evacuation 
of  Raines'  bluff,  Snyder's  bluff,  and  Walnut  and  Clncka- 
saw  bluffs  by  the  enemy,  with  all  their  strong  works,  and 
it  enabled  General  Grant  at  once  to  open  communication 
with  the  fleet  and  his  new  base  on  the  Yazoo  and  Mis 
sissippi,  above  Vicksburg.     Of  General  Sherman's  con 
duct  during  this  preliminary  portion  of  the  campaign, 


116  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS, 

General  Grant  wrote  to  the  War  Department :  "  His 
demonstration  at  Haines'  bluff  in  April,  to  hold  the 
enemy  about  Vicksburg,  while  the  army  was  securing  a 
foothold  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  his  rapid  marches  to 
join  the  army  afterwards ;  his  management  at  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  in  the  first  attack;  his  almost  unequalled 
march  from  Jackson  to  Bridgeport,  and  passage  of  Black 
river ;  and  his  securing  Walnut  hills  on  the  1 8th  of  May, 
attest  his  great  merit  as  a  soldier."  It  is  worthy  of  no 
tice,  that  the  position  thus  gained  by  General  Sherman, 
by  a  rear  attack,  was  the  one  against  the  front  of  which 
his  troops  had  been  hurled  in  vain  less  than  five  months 
before. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  May,  at  2  A.M.,  Gener 
al  Grant  ordered  a  general  assault  en  the  enemy's  lines, 
and,  of  the  three  corps  engaged,  Sherman's  alone  suc 
ceeded  in  making  a  material  advance.  A  second  assault 
was  ordered  for  the  22d.  This,  though  conducted  with 

5  O 

great  bravery  and  daring,  proved  unsuccessful,  and  resort 
was  had  to  the  slower  but  surer  process  of  a  siege.  The 
city  was  surrendered  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  its  reduc 
tion  conferred  lasting  renown  on  General  Grant  and  his 
brave  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  To  the  remainder  of  that 
army  the  surrender  brought  rest  and  relaxation  from  their 
severe  labor;  but  Sherman's  troops,  increased  by  the  ad 
dition  of  the  13th  army  corps,  were  ordered  immediately 
to  look  after  Johnston.  That  rebel  commander  had  made 
great  efforts  to  collect  a  force  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
raisQ  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  but  had  found  it  impossible 
to  do  so.  He  had,  however,  hovered  in  the  rear  of 
Grant's  army,  prudently  keeping  the  Big  Black  river  be 
tween  his  force  and  theirs,  but  was  on  the  alert  to  do 
them  a  mischief.  On  the  very  day  of  the  surrender 
Sherman  moved  eastward,  found  and  drove  Johnston's 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


force  back  to  Jackson,  and  promptly  invested  it  there, 
at  the  same  time  sending  his  cavalry  to  cut  the  railroads, 
and  destroy  railroad  bridges,  culverts,  depots,  cars,  Ac., 
above  and  below  the  city  on  the  Mississippi  Central  rail 
road,  and  east  on  the  Jackson  and  Meridian  railroad. 
Johnston  made  one  desperate  sortie,  but,  finding  Gener 
al  Sherman  prepared  for  him,  evacuated  the  city  hastily 
on  the  night  of  the  16th,  at  the  only  point  not  yet  com 
pletely  invested,  abandoning  every  thing,  except  the  arms 
of  the  soldiers,  to  the  Union  troops.  Of  this  last  triumph 
General  Grant  said,  "  It  entitles  General  Sherman  to  more 
credit  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  one  man  to  earn" 

For  two  months  General  Sherman  and  his  army  corps 
rested,  lying  in  camp  along  the  Big  Black  river,  a  rest 
much  needed  after  the  hardships  of  the  siege  and  subse 
quent  pursuit  of  Johnston  ;  but  the  opportunity  was  im 
proved  by  the  commander  to  refit  and  recruit  his  force, 
and  to  bring  and  keep  them  in  the  highest  state  of  effi 
ciency  for  service  whenever  they  should  be  called  upon. 
The  time  soon  came.     On  the  22d  of  September,  General 
Grant  telegraphed  him  from  Vicksburg  to  send  a  divi 
sion  at  once  to  reinforce  Rosecrans,  who  had  just  fought 
the  severe  and  disastrous  battle  of  Chickamauga.     At  4 
p.  M.,  the  same  day,  Osterhaus'  division  were  on  the  road 
to  Vicksburg,   and   the   next  day  ascending  the  river  to 
Memphis.    On  the  23d  the  order  came  for  General  Sher 
man  to  follow  with  the  remainder  of  his  corps.  He  started 
instantly,  every  thing  being  in  order  for  immediate  move 
ment,  and  on  the  27th  was  on  his  way  to  Memphis  by 
water.  Owing  to  the  low  state  of  the  river  and  the  scar 
city  of  fuel,  the  voyage  was  very  slow,  and  the  general 
found  it  necessary  frequently  to  land  forces  and  gather 
fence-rails,  and  other  fuel,  to  hasten  their  progress.  They 
finally  reached  Memphis  on  the  2d,  3d,  and  4th  of  Oc- 


118  OCR    GKKAT    CAPTAINS. 

tober,  Osterhaus'  division  having,  meantime,  advanced 
as  far  as  Corinth.  At  Memphis  he  found  orders  from 
General  Halleck  to  move  his  corps,  and  all  other  avail 
able  troops  in  his  vicinity,  to  Athens,  Alabama,  following 
and  repairing  the  railroad,  and  depending  on  the  country 
through  which  he  passed  for  his  supplies.  Work  was 
instantly  commenced  on  the  railroad,  and  prosecuted  day 
and  night,  but,  finding  he  could  move  his  trains  more 
rapidly  by  turnpike  with  an  escort,  he  dispatched  them 
by  that  route,  and  finally  sent  forward  his  fourth  division 
in  the  same  way. 

The  rebels  having  learned  of  this  movement,  and  being 
alarmed  by  it,  collected  as  rapidly  as  possible  bodies  of 
troops  at  Salem,  Mississippi,  and  Tuscumbia,  Alabama, 
to  prevent  the  advance  of  Sherman,  and  his  reinforce 
ment  of  Rosecrans.  At  Salem,  the  rebel  General  Chal 
mers  had  collected  three  thousand  cavalry  and  eight 
pieces  of  artillery,  and  moved  forward  with  this  force  to 
the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad  to  obstruct  Sher 
man's  progress.  Having  been  informed  of  this,  General 
Sherman  on  the  llth  of  October  put  his  whole  force  in 
motion  towards  Corinth,  and  himself  started  for  that 
place  in  advance  by  special  train,  having  a  battalion  of 
the  13th  regular  infantry  (his  own  old  regiment)  with  him 
as  escort.  As  he  approached  Colliersville,  twenty-four 
miles  from  Memphis,  his  train  was  fired  upon,  and  it  was 
discovered  that  Chalmers  was  investing  the  place,  which 
was  defended  by  a  small  garrison  of  Union  troops  in  a 
stockade.  Springing  from  the  train,  and  forming  his 
escort,  he  ordered  them  to  charge  the  rebels,  which  they 
did  with  great  effect,  scattering  them  in  all  directions, 
and  relieving  the  little  garrison.  Having  driven  the 
rebels  from  the  vicinity,  he  proceeded  the  next  day  to 
Corinth,  from  whence  he  sent  General  Blair  to  luka  with 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  119 

the  first  division,  and,  as  fast  as  they  came  up,  pushed 
the  other  divisions  along,  with  orders  to  stop  at  Big 
Bear  creek,  five  miles  east  of  luka.  Before  leaving 
Memphis  he  had  sent  a  request  to  Admiral  Porter  to 
send  the  gunboats  up  the  Tennessee,  and  to  General 
Allen,  at  St.  Louis,  to  send  a  ferry-boat  to  Eastport. 
Both  had  complied  with  his  wishes,  and  he  resumed 
work  on  the  railroad  with  all  possible  energy,  send 
ing  General  Blair,  meanwhile,  with  two  divisions  to 
drive  the  enemy  out  of  Tuscumbia,  which  he  accom 
plished  on  the  27th  of  October,  having  previously  en 
countered  the  rebels  in  a  severe  fight  at  Cane  creek. 

While  General  Sherman  was  thus  making  as  rapid 
progress  as  he  could  in  reopening  communications  be 
tween  Memphis  and  Chattanooga,  General  Grant  had 
been  advanced  to  the  command  of  the  grand  military 
division  of  the  Mississippi,  comprising  the  three  armies 
of  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Tennessee,  and 
had  asked  and  obtained  for  General  Sherman  the  com 
mand  of  his  own  army  of  the  Tennessee.  He  was  in 
formed  of  this  while  at  luka,  and  immediately  com 
menced  reorganizing  his  new  command;  and  on  the  day 
of  the  battle  of  Cane  creek  he  sent  General  Ewing  with 
a  division  to  cross  the  Tennessee,  and  move  with  all 
speed  to  Eastport.  On  the  27th  of  October,  a  messen 
ger  arrived  from  General  Grant,  ordering  him  to  drop 
all  work  on  the  railroad  east  of  Bear  creek,  and  push  on 
to  Bridgeport.  With  prompt  obedience  he  immediately 
ordered  all  his  columns  towards  Eastport,  as  the  only 
practicable  point  where  the  Tennessee  could  be  crossed. 
On  the  1st  of  November,  General  Sherman  himself 
crossed,  and  passed  on  to  the  head  of  the  column,  leav 
ing  the  rear  in  charge  of  General  Blair,  and  marched  to 
Hoirersville  and  the  Elk  river.  Finding  that  river  irn- 


**v  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAIN'S. 

passable,  and  there  being  no  time  for  building  a  bridge 
or  constructing  pontoons,  he  marched  on  by  the  north 
side  of  the  Elk  river  to  Fayetteville,  and  crossing  there, 
headed  his  column  for  Bridgeport ;  and  having  prescribed 
the  route  for  each  division,  he  hastened  forward  to 
Bridgeport,  telegraphed  to  General  Grant  the  position 
of  his  troops,  and  on  the  15th  of  November,  with  his 
escort,  entered  Chattanooga.  He  was  welcomed  by 
General  Grant,  and  at  once  received  orders  to  move  his 
troops,  as  soon  as  they  came  up,  across  the  Tennessee, 
and  effect  a  lodgment  on  the  terminus  of  Missionary 
Ridge,  and  at  the  same  time  demonstrate  with  a  part  of 
his  force  against  Lookout  mountain.  His  men  were 
much  exhausted  by  their  long  and  terrible  march  from 
Memphis,  and  most  generals  would  have  craved  a  brief 
period  of  rest  for  them,  but  General  Sherman  was  too 
thorough  a  soldier  to  hesitate  a  moment  in  his  obedience, 
and  he  accordingly  directed  Ewing's  division  on  Trenton, 
to  make  the  intended  demonstration  on  Lookout  moun 
tain,  and  himself  returned  to  Bridgeport,  rowing  a  boat 
down  the  Tennessee  from  Kelly's  ferry,  and  instantly 
put  his  other  divisions  in  motion,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  had  arrived.  The  roads  were  horrible,  but  by  the 
most  incessant  exertion  night  and  day,  he  succeeded  in 
crossing  three  divisions  over  a  pontoon  bridge  at 
Brown's  ferry  by  the  23d  of  November,  while  the  fourth 
division  was  left  behind  in  Hooker's  camp,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  breaking  of  the  bridge.  The  three  di 
visions  were  the  same  day  concealed  behind  the  hills 
opposite  the  mouth  of  Chickamauga  river,  and  the  same 
night,  by  a  dexterous  manoeuvre,  he  moved  a  force 
silently  along  the  river,  and  captured  every  guard  but 
one  of  the  enemy's  picket  of  twenty  men.  By  daylight, 
on  the  24th  of  November,  he  had  crossed  eight  thousand 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


121 


men  on  steamboats  and  pontoon  boats  to  the  east  bank 
of  the  Tennessee,  and  they  had  thrown  up  a  strong  rifle 
trench,  commanding  both  the  Tennessee  and  the  Chicka- 
mauga  river,  as  a  tete  du  pout.     At  dawn  two  pontoon 
bridges  were  begun— one  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
long,  over  the  Tennessee ;  the  other,  across  the  Chicka- 
mauga,  perhaps  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.     At  1  P.  M., 
both  were  done,  and  the  remainder  of  the  three  divisions 
crossed,  and  marched  from  the  river  en  echelon,  so  ar- 
rano-ed  as  to  be  able  to  deploy  promptly  to  the  right  on 
melting  the  enemy.     After  these  came  a  considerable 
cavalry   force,    which    crossed    the    Chickamauga,    and 
dashed   eastward,  to   cut   the   railroad   lines    upon   the 
Chattanooga  and  Knoxvilie  and  Cleveland  and  Dalton 
roads.     The  movements  of  the  infantry  were  so  com 
pletely  concealed  by  a  rain  and  fog,  that  they  pushed  on 
up  the  hill  which  forms  the  terminus  of  Missionary  Ridge, 
unseen,  surprised  the  enemy,  and  took  the  log  and  earth 
work  fort  which  crowned  the   hill   by  half-past   three 
o'clock  p.  M.     The  enemy,  enraged  at  finding  himself  so 
completely  outmanoeuvred  and  outflanked,  opened  upon 
Sherman's  troops  with  artillery  and  musketry,  but  the 
Union  artillery,  which  had  been  dragged  up  the  steep 
ascent,  opened  in  turn  and  soon  silenced  him.     Looking 
at  the  ridge  from  the  summit  of  this  hill,  however,  it 
was  evident  that  the  grand  objective  was  the  next  or 
second  spur,  which  was  higher,  steeper,  and  on  the  broad 
plateau  at  the  top  had  a  very  strong  and  extensive  earth 
work,  known  as  Fort  Buckner.     To  carry  this  must  be 
Sherman's  effort  on  the  following  day.     The  commander- 
in-chief  held  a  consultation  with  his  leading  generals 
that  night,  and  fully  aware  of  Sherman's  abilities  and 
prompt  obedience,  assigned  to  him  a  diflicult  task,  and 
one  which,  for  the  time,  could  not  increase  and  might 


122  OUR   GKEAT    CAPTAINS. 

diminish  his  reputation,  because  the  motives  on  which 
he  acted  might  not  be  fully  understood.  As  he  expected, 
General  Sherman  promptly,  and  without  objection,  ac 
cepted  his  part  of  the  duty  of  the  morrow.  He  was  to 
make  a  persistent  demonstration  against  Fort  Buckner, 
sending  up  column  after  column  to  assault  it,  and  thus 
drawing  the  rebel  troops  from  Forts  Bragg  and  Breck- 
inridge  below  to  Tunnel  hill,  on  which  Fort  Buckner 
was  situated,  leave  those  forts  fatally  weakened,  when 
General  Grant  would  send  a  storming  column  to  capture 
them,  and  the  enemy  thus  assailed  in  rear  and  flank 
would  be  compelled  to  relinquish  his  position  on  the 
ridge.  It  was  not  expected  that  Sherman's  assaults 
would  be  successful,  though,  to  be  effective,  they  must 
cost  heavy  losses ;  but  it  is  not  saying  any  thing  deroga 
tory  to  the  other  able  generals  who  participated  in  these 
battles,  to  say  that  to  none  other  would  General  Grant 
have  felt  willing  to  have  assigned  a  task  requiring  such 
firmness  and  self-sacrifice  without  any  immediate  hope  of 
reputation  or  fame,  but  rather  a  certainty  of  reproach, 
utterly  undeserved,  attaching  to  it ;  and  had  he  been 
disposed  to  propose  it  to  any  other,  he  could  hardly  have 
failed  to  have  met  with  a  protest.  General  Sherman  ac 
cepted  the  duty,  however,  as  he  would  have  done  any 
other,  satisfied  that  it  was  his  part  to  perform  whatever 
duty  was  assigned  to  him,  without  complaint,  so  it  would 
inure  to  the  overthrow  of  the  rebellion  and  the  end  of 
the  war. 

"  Before  dawn  on  the  25th  of  November,"  says  Colonel 
Bowman,  "  Sherman  was  in  the  saddle,  and  had  made 
the  entire  tour  of  his  position  in  the  dim  light.  It  was 
seen  that  a  deep  valley  lay  between  him  and  the  precip 
itous  sides  of  the  next  hill  in  the  series,  which  was  only 
partially  cleared,  and  of  which  the  crest  was  narrow  and 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  123 

wooded.  The  further  point  of  the  hill  was  held  by  the 
enemy,  with  a  strong  breastwork  of  logs  and  fresh  earth, 
crowded  with  men  and  carrying  two  guns.  On  a  still 
higher  hill  beyond  the  tunnel  he  appeared  in  great  force, 
and  had  a  fair  plunging  fire  on  the  intermediate  hill  in 
dispute.  The  gorge  between  these  two  latter  hills, 
through  which  the  railroad  tunnel  passes,  could  not  be 
seen  from  Sherman's  position,  but  formed  the  natural 
place,  d'armes,  where  the  enemy  covered  his  masses  to 
resist  Sherman's  turning  his  right  flank,  and  thus  endan 
gering  his  communications  with  the  Chickamauga  de 
pot." 

General  Corse  was  to  have  the  advance,  "  and,"  says 
General  Sherman,  "  the  sun  had  hardly  risen  when  his 
bugle  sounded  the  'Forward.'"  Down  the  valley  and 
up  the  steep  sides  of  the  hill  in  front  they  moved  briskly, 
and  though  at  every  step  they  encountered  a  murderous 
fire  from  the  enemy's  artillery,  yet  they  managed  in  spite 
of  all  opposition  to  carry  and  hold  a  secondary  crest  or 
ledge  of  rocks  on  Tunnel  hill,  although  their  position 
was  swept  by  the  fire  of  the  breastworks  in  front.  For 
more  than  an  hour  a  conflict  of  the  most  desperate  char 
acter  raged,  the  Union  troops  now  surging  up  close  to 
the  breastwork,  and  apparently  about  to  spring  over, 
and  anon  dashed  back  far  away  to  their  original  position. 
To  draw  the  fire  partially  from  these  struggling  heroes, 
General  Sherman  opened  a  fire  with  his  artillery  upon 
the  breastwork,  throwing  shot  and  shell  into  it  with 
great  accuracy.  He  also  sent  two  columns,  one  to  the 
left  of  the  ridge  and  one  to  the  right,  abreast  of  the  tun 
nel,  to  distract  the  enemy's  attention,  and  thus  support 
Corse's  attack.  About  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  fight  in- 
creased  in  intensity,  and  General  Corse  was  severely 
wounded.  Two  brigades  of  reinforcements  were  sent 


124: 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


up,  but  the  crest  was  so  crowded  that  they  had  to  fall 
away  to  the  west  side  of  the  hill,  and  at  once  the  enemy's 
reserves,  which  had  been  lying  in  the  gorge  under  cover 
of  the  undergrowth,  sprang  out  upon  their  right  and 
rear.  Thus  suddenly  assailed,  they  fell  back  in  some 
confusion  to  the  lower  edge  of  the  field,  where  they  re 
formed  in  good  order,  and  repelled  the  attempts  of  the 
enemy  to  pursue.  As  these  brigades  constituted  no  part 
of  the  real  attack,  this  temporary  rebuff  was  of  no  prac 
tical  importance.  General  Corse's  column  and  the  two 
brigades  on  the  right  and  left  still  held  their  position 
stubbornly  on  the  crest.  They  might  not  be  able  to 
drive  the  enemy  from  the  hill,  but  neither  would  they 
be  driven  from  it  themselves. 

Regarding  this  as  the  main  attack,  and  determined  to 
repel  it,  the  enemy  now  began  to  draw,  from  his  line  be 
low,  troops   to   mass  against  these  stubborn  assailants. 
"  At  three  p.  M.,"  writes  General  Sherman,  "column  after 
column  of  the  enemy  was  streaming  towards  me,  gun 
after  gun  poured  its  concentric  shot  on  us  from  every 
hill  and  spur  that  gave  a  view  of  any  part  of  the  ground." 
From  Orchard  knob  General  Grant  watched,  with  deep 
interest,  the  struggle ;   and  when,  after  another  charge 
of  the  most  determined  character  had  almost,  but  not 
quite,  won  the  goal,  opposed,  at  the  very  last,  by  the 
heavy  reinforcements  which  the  enemy  had  just  brought 
up,  the  commander-in-chief  sent  a  division  over  to  sup 
port  him,  Sherman  sent  it  back,  with  a  message,  that  he 
had  all  the  force  necessary,  and  could  hold  his  position 
on  Tunnel  hill.     Then  came  the  moment  so  long  watched 
for,  when  the  blow  to  which  Bragg  had  unwisely  ex 
posed  himself,  was  to  be  struck,  and  the  patient  and  gal 
lant  heroes  on  Tunnel  hill  were  to  be  avenged.     Hooker 
had  already  placed  himself  in  rear  of  the  enemy,  on  Mis- 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


125 


sion  ridge,  and  was  at  that  moment  thundering  against 
the   walls    of   Fort   Bragg,   the    southernmost   of   the 
rebel  earthworks  on  the  ridge,  which  he  carried  a  little 
later— and  at  twenty  minutes  to  four,  the  fourth  army 
corps  of  Thomas'  army  charged  in  solid  column  up  the 
ridge,  and  carried  Fort  Breckenridge ;  and  the  rebel  gen- 
erat  and  all  his  garrisons  and  army  were  forced,  after  a 
very  brief  conflict,  to  fly  in  hot  haste  down  the  eastern 
slope  of  Missionary  ridge,  and  take  refuge  in  the  valleys 
beyond.     The  battles  of  Chattanooga  were  won.     Sher 
man's  part  in  this  conflict  had  been,  as  we  have  said, 
not  the  brilliant  one  of  .the  victor,  before  whom  the 
enemy  fly  in  confusion  ;   rather  had   he  at  the  first  to 
bear  the  odium  of  having  sacrificed  his  men  in  a  fruitless 
though  persistent  assault  on  a  fortification  which  could 
not  be  carried  by  direct  attack;    but  when  the  whole 
plan  of  the  battles  came  out,  and  their  mutual  relations 
were  seen,  it  became  evident  that  the  glorious  successes  of 
that  day  were  due  as  much  to  the  persistency  and  stub 
bornness  with  which  General  Sherman  held  the  crest  of 
Tunnel  hill,  as  to  the  brilliant  charge  of  the  fourth  corps  ; 
against  Fort  Breckenridge.     Without  the  former  the  lat 
ter  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  have  proved  successful. 
But  with  the  victory  came  no   rest  for  Sherman's  war 
worn  veterans.     The  same  night  Sherman's  skirmishers 
followed  the  enemy,  and  long  before   dawn  the  next 
morning  Sherman  was  himself  in  the  saddle,  leading  a 
division  of  Howard's  corps  in  swift  pursuit  of  the  flying 
foe.      The   remainder   of   his    army,    and    portions   of 
Thomas's,  as  well  as  Hooker's  grand  division,  followed 
closely  and  persistently,  skirmished  with  the  enemy  at 
two  or  three  points,  and  finally  compelling  him  to  stand 
at  bay  at  Ringgold,  had  a  sharp  action,  but  defeated  the 
rebels  with  considerable  slaughter.     General  Grant  now 
11* 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


acceded  to  General  Sherman's  request,  to  be  allowed  to 
destroy  thoroughly  the  railroad  communications  of  the 
enemy  with  Knoxville,  and  thus  effectually  prevent  the 
reunion  of  Longstreet  and  Bragg. 

Meantime,  General  Burnside,  now  besieged  at  Knox 
ville,  had  sent  an  urgent  appeal  to  General  Grant  for 
relief.     Grant  had  already  ordered  General  Granger  to 
march  thither  with  his  corps,  but  he  had  not  yet  got  off, 
and  moved  with  reluctance  and  complaint.     Nor  had  he 
the  number  of  men  which  General  Grant  had  directed 
him  to  take.     "I  therefore  determined,"  says  General 
Grant,  "  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  two  divisions  of 
Sherman's  forces  had  marched  from  Memphis,  and  had 
gone  into  battle  immediately  on  their  arrival  at  Chatta 
nooga,  to  send  him  with  his  command."     Accordingly, 
Sherman  received  command  of  all  the  troops  designed 
for  relieving  Knoxville,  including  Granger's.     "  Seven 
days  before,"  wrote  Sherman,  "  we  had  left  our  camps 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Tennessee,  with  two  days'  ra 
tions,   without  a  change    of  clothing,  stripped  for   the 
fight,  with  but  a  single  blanket  or  coat  per  man,  from 
myself  to  the  private  included.     Of  course,  we  then  had 
no  provisions,  save  what  we  gathered  by  the  road,  and 
were  ill-supplied  for  such  a  march.     But  we  learned  that 
twelve  thousand  of  our  fellow-soldiers  were  beleaguered 
in  the   mountain-town    of  Knoxville,   eighty-four  miles 
distant,  that  they  needed  relief,  and  must  have  it  in  three 
days.     This  was  enough  ;  and  it  had  to  be  done."     The 
railroad  bridge  over  the  Hiawassee   was  repaired   and 
planked,  and  at  daylight  of  the   1st   of  December  the 
army  crossed   upon  it,  and  marched  to  Athens,  fifteen 
miles,  through  deep  mud.     On  the  2d  of  December  they 
hurried  forward  to   London,  twenty-six   miles  distant, 
while  the  cavalry  pushed  on  in  advance  to  endeavor  1 


GENEBAL   SHERMAN. 
the  bridge  over  the  Tennessee,  held  by  the  rebel 


.ml  m-ovisiom      But  one  day  remained,  and  less  uiai 
Tennessee  and  push  into  Knoxville,  at  whatever  cost  of 


that  all  was  well.  The  forced  march  was  continued  to 
£n*riS  -here  a  staff-officer  of  General  Burns.de 
Son  the  evening  of  the  5th,  with  the  announce 
Lnt  that  Lougstreet  had  raised  the  s.ege  the 

^General   Sherman   now  sent  forward  Granger's  two 
divtions  to  Knoxvilie,  and  at  once  ordered  the  ,—  de 
of  his  gallant  army  to  halt  and  rest,  for  their  wo  k  wa. 
/one.    gForhin,selt;hewent  to  Knozville;  and^avmg 
found  every  thing  safe  there,  returned  leisurely  wrth  ^ 
army,  except  Granger's  divisions,  to  Chattanooga. 


1  9ft 

OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


three  months  which  had  elapsed  since  they  left  Vicksbur* 
had  been  passed  in  a  campaign  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  war.     Without  a  moment's  rest,  after  a  march  of  four 
hundred  miles,  without  sleep  for  three  successive  nights 
they  crossed  the  Tennessee  river,  fought  their  part  in' 
the  battles  of  Chattanooga,  pursued  the  enemy  out  or 
renesssee,  then  turned  north  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
i  compelled  Longstreet  to  raise  the  siege  of  Knox- 
ville.     These  marches  had  been  made  much  of  the  time 
without  regular  rations  or  supplies  of  any  kind,  through 
nud  and   over  rocks,  sometimes  barefooted,  and  in  a 
mountainous  region,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  without  a 
murmur. 

<  It  is  related  of  one  of  these  veteran  heroes,  that  after 
his  return  to  Chattanooga,  he  was,  in  passing  through 
the  camps,  challenged  by  a  sentinel  belonging  to  the 
Jileventh  corps,  and  made  answer  that  he  "belonged  to 
the  Fifteenth  corps."  «  Where's  your  bad<*e  ?"  asked 
the  sentry.  "What  badge?"  inquired  the  veteran. 

Ihe  badge  of  your  corps.  We  wear  a  crescent  to 
designate  our  corps."  "Badge?"  answered  the  hero. 

Oh  yes  I  Forty  rounds  of  ammunition  in  our  cartridge 
boxes ;  sixty  rounds  in  our  pockets  ;  a  march  from  Mem 
phis  to  Chattanooga ;  a  battle  and  pursuit ;  another  march 
to  Knoxville;  and  victory  everywhere.  That's  all  the 
badge  we  want." 

General  Sherman  possesses  a  highly  cultivated  mind 
well  trained  by  study  and  observation  in  a  wider  range 
of  topics  than  usually  come  within  the  scope  of  military 
men;  and  in  his  letters  and  reports  the  evidences  of  this 
thorough  and  thoughtful  culture  are  often  noticeable,  a 
single  expression  sometimes  embodying  some  great  prin 
crple  on  which  Vattel,  Montesquieu,  or  Jomini  would 
have  expended  a  hundred  pages.  We  shall  see  instances 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  129 


of  this  further  on.  In  all  matters  of  military  law,  prin 
ciple,  or  custom  he  displays  a  profound  knowledge,  and 
a  facility  in  applying  them  to  existing  cases  which  few 
military  writers  have  possessed.  His  letters  on  the  proper 
treatment  of  disloyal  people  in  conquered  territory  are 
models  of  military  learning  and  judicial  ability,  and  will 
in  all  the  future  be  quoted  as  authorities.  One  of  these, 
addressed  to  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Sawyer  at 
Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  bearing  date  Jan.  24th,  1864, 
is  so  clear  and  satisfactory  in  its  enunciation  of  the  posi 
tion  of  our  government  in  relation  to  these  disloyal  resi 
dents,  that  we  cannot  forbear  quoting  a  considerable 

portion  of  it. 

After  citing  historical  precedents,  and  the  authority  of 
Napoleon  and  William  of  Orange,  for  his  views,  he  pro 
ceeds  to  say : 

"  The  war  which  now  prevails  in  our  land  is  essentially 
a  war  of  races.  The  Southern  people  entered  into  a 
clear  compact  of  government,  but  still  maintained  a 
species  of  separate  interests,  history,  and  prejudices. 
These  latter  became  stronger  and  stronger,  till  they 
have  led  to  a  war  which  has  developed  fruits  of  the  bit 
terest  kind.  m  . 

"  We  of  the  North  are,  beyond  all  question,  right  in 
our  lawful  cause,  but  we  are  not  bound  to  ignore  the 
fact  that  the  people  of  the  South  have  prejudices,  which 
form  a  part  of  their  nature,  and  which  they  cannot  throw 
off  without  an  effort  of  reason,  or  the  slower  process  of 
natural  change.  Now,  the  question  arises,  should  we 
treat  as  absolute  enemies  all  in  the  South  who  differ  from 
us  in  opinion  or  prejudice,— kill  or  banish  them?  or 
should  we  give  them  time  to  think  and  gradually  change 
their  conduct,  so  as  to  conform  to  the  new  order  of 


130  OUR   GREAT    CAPTAIN'S. 

things,  which  is  slowly  and  gradually  creeping  into  their 
country  ? 

"When  men  take  arms  to  resist  our  rightful  au 
thority,  we  are  compelled-  to  use  force,  because  all  rea 
son  and  argument  cease  when  arms  are  resorted  to. 
When  the  provisions,  forage,  h'orses,  mules,  wagons,  &c., 
are  used  by  our  enemy,  it  is  clearly  our  duty  and  right 
to  take  them,  because  otherwise  they  might  be  used 
against  us. 

"  In  like  manner,  all  houses  left  vacant  by  an  inimical 
people  are  clearly  our  right,  or  such  as  are  needed  as 
storehouses,  hospitals,  and  quarters.  But  a  question 
arises  as  to  dwellings  used  by  women,  children,  and  non- 
combatants.  So  long  as  non-combatants  remain  in  their 
houses,  and  keep  to  their  accustomed  business,  their 
opinions  and  prejudices  can  in  no  wise  influence  the  war, 
and,  therefore,  should  not  be  noticed.  But  if  any  one 
comes  out  into  the  public  streets  and  creates  disorder, 
he  or  she  should  be  punished,  restrained,  or  banished, 
either  to  the  rear  or  front,  as  the  officer  in  command  ad 
judges.  If  the  people,  or  any  of  them,  keep  up  a  cor 
respondence  with  parties  in  hostility,  they  are  spies,  and 
can  be  punished  with  death,  or  minor  punishment. 

"  These  are  well-established  principles  of  war,  and  the 
people  of  the  South,  having  appealed  to  war,  are  barred 
from  appealing  to  our  Constitution,  which  they  have 
practically  and  publicly  defied.  They  have  appealed  to 
war,  and  must  abide  its  rules  and  laws.  The  United 
States,  as  a  belligerent  party  claiming  right  in  the  soil  as 
the  ultimate  sovereign,  have  a  right  to  change  the  popu 
lation,  and  it  may  be,  and  is,  both  politic  and  just,  we 
should  do  so  in  certain  districts.  When  the  inhabitants 
persist  too  long  in  hostility,  it  may  be  both  politic  and 
right  that  we  should  banish  them  and  appropriate  their 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  131 

lands  to  a  more  loyal  and  useful  population.  No  man  will 
deny  that  the  United  States  would  be  benefited  by  dis 
possessing  a  single  prejudiced,  hard-headed,  and  disloyal 
planter,  and  substituting  in  his  place  a  dozen  or  more 
patient,  industrious,  good  families,  even  if  they  be  of 
foreign  birth.  I  think  it  does  good  to  present  this  view 
of  the  case  to  many  Southern  gentlemen,  who  grew  rich 
and  wealthy,  not  by  virtue  alone  of  their  industry  and 
skill,  but  by  reason  of  the  protection  and  impetus  to 
prosperity  given  by  our  hitherto  moderate  and  magnan 
imous  Government.  It  is  all  idle  nonsense  for  these 
Southern  planters  to  say  that  they  made  the  South,  that 
they  own  it,  and  that  they  can  do  as  they  please, — even 
to  break  up  our  Government,  and  to  shut  up  the  natural 
avenues  of  trade,  intercourse,  and  commerce. 

***** 

"Whilst  I  assert  for  our  Government  the  highest 
military  prerogatives,  I  am  willing  to  bear  in  patience 
that  political  nonsense  of  slave-rights,  State  rights,  free 
dom  of  conscience,  freedom  of  press,  and  such  other 
trash,  as  have  deluded  the  Southern  people  into  war, 
anarchy,  and  bloodshed,  and  the  foulest  crimes  that  have 
disgraced  any  time  or  any  people. 

"  I  would  advise  the  commanding  officers  at  Hunts- 
ville,  and  such  other  towns  as  are  occupied  by  our  troops, 
to  assemble  the  inhabitants  and  explain  to  them  these 
plain,  self-evident  propositions,  and  tell  them  that  it  is 
for  them  now  to  say  whether  they  and  their  children 
shall  inherit  the  beautiful  land  which  by  the  accident  of 
nature  has  fallen  to  their  share.  The  Government  of 
the  United  States  has  in  North  Alabama  any  and  all 
rights  which  they  choose  to  enforce  in  war, — to  take 
their  lives,  their  homes,  their  lands,  their  every  thing ; 
because  they  cannot  deny  that  war  does  exist  there ; 


O     THF 


NIVERSITY  1 

r\C  i 


OUB   GREAT  CAPTAINS. 

and  war  is  simply  power,  unrestrained  by  Constitution 
or  compact.    If  they  want  eternal  war,  well  and  good  • 
je  will  accept  the  issue  and  dispossess  them  and  put  our 
friends  m  possession.     I  know  thousands  and  millions  of 
good  people  who,  at  simple  notice,  would  come  to  North 
Alabama  and  accept  the  elegant  houses  and  plantations 
now  there.    If  the  people  of  Huntsville  think  differently 
et  them  persist  in  war  three  years  longer,  and  then 
they  will  not  be  consulted.     Three  years  ago,  by  a  little 
reflection  and  patience,  they  could  have  had  a  hundred 
years  of  peace  and  prosperity,  but  they  preferred  war 
Very   well.     Last   year   they   could   have   saved   their 
slaves,  but  now  it  is  too  late;  all  the  powers  of  earth 
cannot  restore  to  them  their  slaves,  any  more  than  their 
dead  grandfathers.     Next  year  their  lands  will  be  taken 
-for  m  war  we  can  take  them,  and  rightfully  too,-and 
m  another  year  they  may  beg  in  vain  for  their  lives.     A 
people  who  will  persevere  in  war  beyond  a  certain  limit 
ought  to  know  the  consequences.     Many,  many  people 
with  less  pertinacity  than  the  South,  have  been  wiped 
out  of  national  existence." 

The  _  expedition  of  General  Sherman  into  Central 
Mississippi  was  projected  by  that  general,  but  sanc 
tioned  and  ordered  by  General  Grant.  It  was  a  grand 
conception,  the  marching  a  movable  column  of  twenty- 
two  thousand  men,  cut  loose  from  any  base,  for  a  hun 
dred  and  thirty  miles  through  the  enemy's  country,  and 

i  modern  times  has  hardly  been  surpassed  except  by 
bherman  himself  in  his  later  movements.  That  it  failed 

f  accomplishing  all  that  was  intended,  and  was  in  its 
results  only  a  gigantic  raid,  carrying  terror  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  Confederacy,  and  crippling  the  re- 
sources  of  the  enemy  beyond  effectual  reparation,  was 


GENERAL   SHERMAN.  133 

not  the  fault  of  General  Sherman,  but  of  the  co-operat 
ing  cavalry  force,  which  failed  to  make  its  movement  at 
the  proper  time,  and  with  the  necessary  resolution  and 
energy  to  effect  a  junction  which  might  have  swept 
Mississippi  and  Alabama  out  of  the  grasp  of  the  rebels. 

Brigadier-General  W.  S.  Smith  was  ordered  to  leave 
Memphis  on  the  1st  of  February,  with  a  force  of  8,000 
cavalry,  and  move  down  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad, 
from  Corinth  to  Meridian,  destroying  the  road  as  he 
went.  At  Meridian  he  was  to  form  a  junction  with 
General  Sherman,  who  left  Yicksburg  on  the  3d  of  Feb 
ruary,  and  marched  eastward  with  a  force  of  twenty 
thousand  cavalry,  twelve  hundred  infantry,  and  a  train 
carrying  twenty  days'  rations.  General  Smith  failed  to 
move  at  the  proper  time,  and,  indeed,  did  not  leave 
Memphis  till  the  llth  of  February  ;  and  the  rebels,  mean 
time,  had  collected  a  sufficient  force  on  his  route  to  op 
pose  his  progress,  and  induce  him  to  turn  back,  after  one 
or  two  skirmishes.  Meantime,  Sherman  had  performed 
his  part  of  the  expedition  well.  Moving  directly  across 
the  State  of  Mississippi  from  Vicksburg,  through  Clin 
ton,  Jackson,  Quitman,  Enterprise,  and  Meridian,  he 
encountered  no  formidable  opposition,  and  destroyed  the 
rebel  communications  and  stores  beyond  their  power  to 
replace  them,  and  brought  off  large  numbers  of  the  able- 
bodied  negroes  and  their  families  from  that  region,  the 
centre  of  the  cotton-growing  country,  and  great  num. 
bers  of  horses,  mules,  and  army  wagons.  Finding  that 
General  Smith  would  not  probably  effect  a  junction  with 
him,  he  turned  his  face  westward  from  Meridian,  after  a 
stay  of  three  or  four  days,  meeting  with  no  serious  an 
noyance  from  the  rebels,  who  followed  at  a  respectful 
distance. 

The  purpose  of  the  expedition  was  to  cut  off  Mobile 
12 


134 


CUE   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


from  Johnston,  and  so  annoy,  harass,  and  cut  up  Folk's 
force  in  Central  Mississippi  as  to  prevent  its  going  to  the 
relief  of  Mobile,  at  which  Farragut  was  pounding  away 
with  his  fleet.  The  failure  of  General  Smith  to  co-operate 
deranged  this  plan  in  part,  and  the  assault  on  Mobile  was 
necessarily  postponed  for  the  time. 

On  the  12th  of  Mai:ch,  1864,  the  general  order  of  the 
War  Department  was  issued,  by  virtue  of  which  Lieu- 
tenant-General  Grant  was  put  in  command  of  all  the 
armies  of  the  Union,  and  by  the  same  order  General 
Sherman  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  grand 
military  division  of  the  Mississippi,  the  position  vacated 
by  General  Grant.  This  division  included  the  depart 
ments  of  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland,  the  Tennessee,  and, 
for  the  time,  Arkansas.  The  forces  under  his  command 
numbered  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men,  and  were  to  be  still  further  increased.  His  subor 
dinate  commanders  were  General  Thomas,  at  the  head 
of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  General  McPherson, 
an  accomplished  officer,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  General  Schofield, 
commanding  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  General  Hooker, 
commanding  two  corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
General  Hurlbut,  at  the  head  of  the  large  and  efficient 
Sixteenth  army  corps,  General  Howard,  previously  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  General  Logan,  who 
commanded  his  own  old  corps,  the  Fifteenth  ;  and,  be 
sides  these,  nearly  a  score  of  able  corps  and  division 
commanders,  conspicuous  for  their  ability  in  previous 
fields,— men  like  Stoneman,  Kilpatrick,  Palmer,  Wood, 
Johnson,  Davis,  Rousseau,  Newton,  Geary,  Williams, 
Baird,  and  Brannan. 

At  an  interview  which  General  Sherman  had  with  the 
lieutenant-general,  within  a  week  after  his  promotion,  the 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  135 

plans  for  the  coming  campaign  were  fully  discussed,  and 
it  was  agreed  that  a  simultaneous  forward  movement  of 
the  Eastern  and  Western  armies  should  be  made  early  in 
May,  the  one  having  Richmond,  and  the  other  Atlanta, 
for  its  objective.  Less  than  two  months  remained  be 
fore  the  time  of  making  this  movement,  and  in  that  time 
a  vast  amount  of  supplies  must  be  sent  forward  to  Chat 
tanooga,  sufficient  for  at  least  sixty  days  beyond  the  cur 
rent  expenditure  of  the  army ;  arms,  ammunition,  and 
cannon  must  be  collected  in  immense  quantities ;  the 
scattered  army  corps  concentrated  at  Chattanooga,  and 
thoroughly  reorganized  and  trained ;  the  cavalry  re 
mounted,  and  increased  in  numbers  and  efficiency,  and 
all  the  details  for  a  gigantic  campaign  completed. 
With  that  promptness  and  celerity  which  has  uni 
formly  characterized  his  operations,  General  Sherman, 
while  visiting  all  the  posts  and  garrisons  of  his  com 
mand,  took  measures  to  perfect  all  these  arrangements, 
and  accomplished  them  so  thoroughly,  that  on  the  7th 
of  May  he  moved  forward  with  his  army  from  its  several 
camps  at  Ringgold,  Gordon's  mill,  and  Red  Clay.  His 
grand  army  numbered  ninety-eight  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  and  ninety-seven  effective  men,  and  two  hundred 
and  fifty-four  pieces  of  artillery.  It  was  divided  as  fol 
lows  :  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  Major-General 
Thomas  commanding,  sixty  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-three  men,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
guns ;  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  Major-General  Mc- 
Pherson  commanding,  twenty-four  thousand  four  hun 
dred  and  sixty-five  men,  and  ninety-six  guns  ;  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,  Major-General  Schofield  commanding,  thir 
teen  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-nine  men,  and 
twenty-eight  guns.  Of  these  troops,  six  thousand  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  were  cavalry,  four  thousand  four 


OUR    GEEAT   CAPTAINS. 

hundred  and  sixty  artillery,  and  the  remainder  infantry. 
Ihe  force  opposed  to  him  consisted  of  Hardee's,  Hood's 
Folk's    corps,   the   whole   under  the   command   of 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston/and  numbered,  according  to 
General  Johnston's  report,    about   forty-five    thousand 
f  whom  four  thousand  were  cavalry.     The  rebels  re 
ceived  during  the  campaign,  according  to  the  same  re 
port,  reinforcements  to  the  amount  of  about  twenty-one 
thousand,  of  which  nearly  seven  thousand  were  cavalry 
Sherman's  army  received  only  a  sufficient  number  of  re 
inforcements,  and  men  returning  from  furlough  and  hos 
pital,  to  keep  his  army  about  up  to  the  original  standard  - 
while  Johnston  represents  the  number  of  troops  turned 
over  to  Hood  as  about  six  thousand  greater  than  that 
with  which  he  commenced  the  campaign,  although  he 
acknowledged  a  loss    of  about   fifteen  thousand  previ 
ous  to  the  battles  near  Atlanta. 

The,  two  armies  were  very  differently  situated  in  one 
respect.     Johnston's,  if  compelled  to  fall  back,  would  be 
only  approaching  nearer  to  his  base  of  supplies ;  while 
Sherman,    already  fully  three  hundred  and  fifty   miles 
from  his  primary  base  at  Louisville,  and  one   hundred 
and  seventy-five  from  his  secondary  base  at  Nashville 
was  compelled  at  every  step  forward  to  increase  the  dis 
tance,  while  his  lines  of  communication  were  one  or  for 
part  of  the  way,  two  lines  of  railroad,  and  some  slight  as 
sistance,  at  certain  stages  of  Viver  navigation,  from  the 
Tennessee  river.     To  guard  this  long  line  of  communi 
cations  from  the  roving  bands  of  rebel  guerrillas,  as  well 
the  regular  cavalry  of  the  rebel  army,  was,  in  itself,  no 
easy  task,  and  by  most  generals  would  have  been  re 
garded  as   entirely  impracticable,  while  every  sta-e  of 
progress  towards  his  objective,  one  hundred  and  Thirty 
miles  distant  from  Chattanooga,  only  added  to  his  diffi- 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


137 


culties.  The  rebel  authorities  constantly  prophesied  his 
utter  discomfiture  from  this  cause  alone,  and  continually 
declared,  till  the  phrase  became  a  by-word,  that  they 
had  "now  got  Sherman  just  where  they  wanted  him." 
Yet  it  is  one  of  the  best  evidences  of  his  skilful  general 
ship  that,  during  a  campaign  of  more  than  five  months, 
General  Sherman  kept  this  line  of  nearly  five  hundred 
miles  of  communications  wholly  within  his  own  control, 
and,  with  rare  ability,  turned  every  effort  of  the  enemy 
to  sever  or  destroy  his  lines  to  their  own  signal  disad 
vantage. 

The   portion    of    Northern   Georgia   through   which 
General  Sherman  must  necessarily  penetrate  in  order  to 
reach  Atlanta,  the  goal  of  his  hopes,  is  characterized  by 
peculiar  topographical  features.     Parallel  ridges  of  hills 
of  considerable  height,  and  with  bold  rugged  faces  and 
narrow  and  steep  defiles,  with  valleys  often  gloomy  and 
dark,   threaded  by  rapid   and    generally  deep  streams, 
extend  from  north  to  south,  broken  through,  in  an  east 
and  west  line  only,  by  the  Coosa  river  and  its  principal 
affluent,  the   Etowah.     South   of  this  latter  river  the 
country   is   somewhat   more   open,  though   broken   by 
isolated   peaks   and   narrow   passes,    and   presenting   a 
rough  and  difficult  region  for  military  movements, 
route   of   the   Chattanooga   and   Atlanta  railroad  was 
through  several  of  these  mountain  passes  or  gaps;  and 
these,  in  addition  to  their  great  natural  strength,  had 
been  carefully  fortified,  and  were  impregnable  to  an  at- 
tack  in  front.     General  Johnston,  an  officer  inferior  in 
ability  to  no  one  in  the  rebel  army,  had  made  the  most 
herculean  exertions  to  prepare   against   every  possible 
contingency   of   attack    from    the    Union    forces,    and 
throughout  the  campaign  displayed  extraordinary  skill 
in  falling  back,  when  compelled  to  retreat  from  one 
12* 


138  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

stronghold  to  another,  in  such  a  way  as  to  lose  neither 
prisoners  nor  material. 

The  first  point  to  be  carried  was  Dalton,  a  position  of 
great  strength,  occupied  by  a  part  of  Johnston's  force, 
which  extended  to  Buzzard's    Roost   gap,  a  high  and 
narrow  defile  in  the  Great  Rocky-faced  Ridge,  a  spur 
from  the  Chattoogata  mountain.     This  defile,  which  was 
protected  by  a  strong  abatis,  artificially  flooded  with  the 
waters  of  Mill  creek,  and  commanded  by  batteries  which 
swept  every  foot  of  it,  was  the  only  gateway  to  Dalton 
from  the  northwest,  and  through  it  the  railway  passed. 
General  Sherman  sent  McPherson's  troops,  by  way  of 
Snake  Creek  gap,  towards  Resaca,  a  town  lying  on  the 
railroad,  eighteen  miles  below  Dalton,  and  subsequently 
(on  the  10th  of  May)    ordered  Hooker's  and  Palmer's 
corps,  and  Schofield's  Army  of  the  Ohio  (Twenty-third 
corps),  to  follow;  while  Thomas,  at  first  with  his  whole 
army,   and  subsequently  with  Howard's  corps,  demon 
strated  vigorously  against  Buzzard  Roost  gap.    Johnston, 
finding  that  he  was  outflanked,  fell  back  over  a  good 
road  to  Resaca,  which  he  reached  before  McPherson  had 
been  able  to  attack;  and  Ho  ward,  passing  the  gap,  entered 
Dalton   and    pressed    on   Johnston's   rear.     Arrived    at 
Resaca,  and  occupying  a  strong  position,  Johnston  pre 
pared  to  give  battle ;  but  while  preparing  to  gratify  him 
with  a  fight,  General  Sherman  had  pontooned  the  Oosta- 
naula,  which  flows  south  of  Resaca,  and  sent  Sweeney's 
division  forward  to  threaten  Calhoun,  the  next  point  of 
importance  on  the  railroad,  while  he  dispatched  also  a 
cavalry  division  to  break  the  railroad  still  further  south, 
between    Calhoun    and    Kingston,    thus   compelling   a 
further  retreat  in  any  event.     On  the  14th,  there  was 
heavy  fighting  in  front  of  Resaca,  without  any  perceptible 
advantage  being  gained  by  the  Union  troops,  but  on  the 


GENERAL   SHERMAN.  139 

15th  the  attack  was  renewed,  and  Hooker's  corps  gained 
one  of  Johnston's  strongest  positions,  capturing  four  guns 
and  many  prisoners.  That  night,  Johnston  ascertaining  the 
danger  of  being  flanked,  escaped  with  his  army,  burning 
the  bridge  over  the  Oostanaula  behind  him. 

The  losses  of  the  Union  army  in  these  battles  had  been 
heavy,  nearly  5,000,  a  large  proportion  of  whom,  how 
ever,  were  but  slighty  wounded,  and  soon  returned  to 
duty.  Johnston's  loss  was  not  far  from  3,500,  a  thou 
sand  of  whom  were  prisoners,  eight  guns,  and  a  consider 
able  amount  of  stores.  After  the  evacuation,  Sherman 
pressed  on  in  pursuit,  detaching,  on  the  17th,  Jefferson 
C.  Davis's  division  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  to  Rome, 
which  was  captured  and  garrisoned.  The  rebel  army 
was  overtaken  at  Adairsville,  and  a  sharp  artillery  en 
gagement  ensued,  when  they  continued  their  retreat; 
and  on  the  18th,  after  some  heavy  skirmishing,  Johnston 
crossed  the  Etowah,  and  Kingston  fell  into  Sherman's 
hands,  and  he  gave  his  troops  a  few  days  of  needed  rest, 
while  he  superintended  the  repair  of  the  railroads,  the 
reopening  communications  to  the  Chattanooga,  and  the 
bringing  forward  of  supplies  for  his  army. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  having  supplied  his  men  with 
twenty  days'  rations,  General  Sherman  moved  forward, 
this  time  leaving  the  route  of  the  railroad,  which,  just 
after  crossing  the  Etowah,  entered  a  long  and  dangerous 
defile  known  as  Allatoona  Pass,  and  turning  directly 
southward,  advanced  towards  Dallas,  which  would  en 
able  him  to  flank  the  pass.  Johnston,  in  order  to  pro 
tect  his  railroad  communication,  was  compelled  to  leave 
his  fortified  lines  and  advance  upon  Sherman's  army. 
His  cavalry  first  came  in  collision  with  Hooker's  corps 
at  Burnt  Hickory,  on  the  24th ;  and  on  the  25th  again 
at  Pumpkinvine  creek,  which  ended  in  a  general  though 


OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


compelled  him  to  cross,  which  he  did  in  good  order,  pro. 
tectmg  his  crossing  by  a  strong  tete-du-pont.      On  the 
7th  of  July,  General  Schofield  effected  a  strong  and  com 
manding  lodgment  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  sur 
prising  the  rebel  guard,  capturing  a  gun,  and  layin«-  a 
good  pontoon  and  trestle-work  bridge,  and  two  days 
later,  General  Sherman  had  secured  three  good  points 
for  passing  the  river;  and  Johnston,  who  till  that  time 
had  held  his  position  on  the  river-bank,  now  found  him 
self  compelled  to  fall  back  to  Atlanta,  and  leave  Sher 
man  indisputable  master  of  the  Chattahoochie.     Atlanta 
was  but  eight  miles  distant,  and  strong  as  it  undoubtedly 
was,  General  Sherman  was  determined  to  capture  it 
But  first  he  found  it  necessary  to  give  his  troops  a  little 
rest;  and  meanwhile  he  put  in  operation  a  plan  for  cut 
ting  off  Johnston's  supplies,  which  was  characteristic  as 
showing  the  mental  grasp  and  far-reaching  foresight  of 
the  man  in  all  military  movements.     He  knew  that  when 
Johnston   had   crossed   the  Chattahoochie  his  supplies 
must  come  mainly  from  the  direction  of  the  Mont-ornery 
Atlanta,  and  West  Point  railroad,  as  Central  and  South' 
ern  Alabama,  Georgia,  and  Mississippi  were  the  source 
from  which   the   beef,   pork,   and    corn    were    derived' 
Foreseeing  that  he  should  drive  him  to  Atlanta,  he  had 
collected  a  force  of  two  thousand  cavalry,  well-appointed 
at  Decatur,  Alabama,  more  than  two  hundred  miles  in 
his  rear,  and  had  sent  them  orders,  on  receiving  notice 
by  telegraph,  to  push  immediately  south,  and  break  the 
railroad  from  Montgomery,  at  Opelika,  and  as  far  as  pos 
sible  east  and  west  from  that  point,  and  then  move  on  to 
join  him  at  Marietta.     This  would  also  prevent  Johnston 
from   receiving   reinforcements   from   Mobile    or   other 
points  west.     The  order  was  given  on  the  9th,  and  the 
cavalry,  under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Rousseau 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


141 


a  strongly  intrenched  line  between  Kenesaw  and  Lost 
mountains.     Pressing  him  again,  and  assaulting  his  lines, 
General  Sherman  compelled  him  to  give  up  Lost  moun 
tain,  and  the  works  connecting  it  with  Kenesaw ;  and, 
as  the  Union  army  still  crowded  upon  him,  he  partially 
changed  his  position,  and  making  Kenesaw  his  salient, 
covered  Marietta  with  his  right  wing,  and  intrenched  his 
left  behind  Nose's  creek,  thus  securing  his  railroad  line. 
Still  the  relentless  pressure  continued,  the  crossing  of 
the   Chattahoochie,  near  Sandtown,  being  threatened. 
On   the    22d,  Hood's   corps   sallied   and   assaulted   the 
Union  lines,  but  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss,  some 
seven  or  eight  hundred  being  killed,  wounded,  or  cap 
tured.     The  time  had  come  when  Sherman  must  either 
assault  Johnston's  position,  or  again  make  the  effort  to 
outflank  him ;  and  believing  that  the  effect  of  an  assault, 
even  if  repulsed,  would  be  better  on  the  morale  of  his 
army  than  a  flank  movement  at  that  time,  he  ordered  an 
assault  at  two  points  on  the  27th.     It  was  repulsed  by 
the  rebels  with  great  loss  on  the  part  of  Sherman's  army 
in  killed  and  wounded,  nearly  three  thousand  being  put 
hors  de  combat,  while  the  enemy,  being  behind  their  m- 
trenchments,  received  but  little   damage.      The  Union 
troops  were  not,  however,  in  the  least  disheartened,  and 
Sherman,  by  a  skilful  mano3uvre  (throwing  McPherson's 
entire  corps  forward  towards  the  Chattahoochie),  com 
pelled  the  evacuation  of  Marietta  on  the  2d  of  July,  and 
the  Union'  army  entered  it  next  morning.     He  at  once 
moved  upon  the  enemy,  hoping  to  find  him  in  confusion 
in  the  crossing  of  the  Chattahoochie  ;  but  the  rebel  com 
mander  had  provided  well  against  any  chances  of  danger, 
and  remained  strongly  intrenched  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river  till  the  5th  of  July,  when  another  flank  move 
ment  of  Sherman,  accompanied  by  active  skirmishing, 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

not  severe  engagement  near  Dallas.     Then  followed,  the 
same  day,  the  severe  struggle  near  New  Hope  church, 
with  heavy  losses  on  both  sides ;  and  after  three  days' 
skirmishing  and  manomvring,  the  bold  and  daring  as 
sault  of  Johnston  on  McPherson  at  Dallas  on  the  28th, 
which  resulted  in  the  repulse  of  the  rebels  with  fearful 
slaughter,   their   loss    being  over  three   thousand,   and 
McPherson's  less  than  one  thousand.     During  these  four 
days  of  battle,  Sherman  had  been  extending  his  lines  to 
the  left  to  envelop  the  rebel  right,  and  occupied  all  the 
roads   leading   eastward   to   Allatoona   and   Ackworth 
After  the  bloody  battle  at  Dallas,  General  Sherman  sent 
his  cavalry  to  seize  and  occupy  Allatoona  Pass,  in  the  mean 
time  making  demonstrations  looking  to  a  further  move 
ment   southward;   but  on   the   1st  of  June   he   pushed 
McPherson   rapidly  to  the  left,  and  reached  Ackworth. 
Johnston  sullenly  abandoned   his  position  at  New  Hope 
church,  and  on   the  4th  of  June  fell  back  to  Kenesaw 
mountain.     General   Sherman  now  examined  Allatoona 
Pass  in  person,  and  finding  it  admirably  adapted  for  a 
secondary  base,  which  he  needed  in  that  vicinity,  had  it 
fortified  and  garrisoned,  and  the  railroad  communications 
repaired,    and   on   the    9th  of  June  full   supplies  were 
brought  into  his  camp  from  Chattanooga  by  rail.     Re 
ceiving  reinforcements  here,  he  moved  forward,  and  be 
gan  again  to  press  Johnston  in  his  strongly  fortified  po 
sition,  extending  in  a  triangle,  and  covering  the  northern 
slopes  of  Pine,  Kenesaw,  and  Lost  mountains.     On  the 
llth  of  June  he  made  his  dispositions  to  break  the  rebel 
line  between  Kenesaw  and  Pine  mountains.     There  was 
considerable  artillery  practice  for  several  days,  and  on 
the  14th  the  rebel  General  Polk  was  killed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  it  was  found  that  General 
Johnston  had  abandoned  Pine  mountain,  and  maintained 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  143 

marched  at  once,  and  within  twelve  days  had  broken  up 
thirty  miles  of  the  railroad,  defeated  the  rebel  General 
Clanton,  and  reached  Marietta  on  the  22d,  with  a  loss  of 
only  thirty  men.  Roswell,  and  the  extensive  factories  of 
army  clothing  for  the  rebels  there,  were  burned  on  the 
7th  of  July. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  the  grand  army  moved  forward, 
and  formed  its  lines  on  the  Peach-tree  road  ;  and  while 
Thomas  was  crossing  Peach-tree  creek  in  force  by  means 
of  numerous  bridges,  thrown  over  in  face  of  the  enemy's 
intrenched  lines,  McPherson  and  Schofield  had  swung 
round  upon  the  Augusta  railroad,  beyond  Decatur,  and 
broken  it  effectually.  There  was  heavy  fighting  daily 
during  these  movements,  and,  on  the  20th  of  July,  Gen 
eral  Hood  (who  had  succeeded  Johnston  in  the  command 
of  the  rebel  army  on  the  17th)  made  a  sudden  and  des 
perate  assault  upon  the  Union  lines,  aiming  to  take 
advantage  of  a  gap  between  Newton's  division,  of  How 
ard's  corps,  and  Johnson's,  of  Palmer's  corps.  These 
two  divisions,  and  the  remainder  of  Hooker's  corps,  sus 
tained  the  full  brunt  of  the  attack  of  Hood's  entire  armyr 
and  after  a  terrible  battle  drove  the  enemy  back  to  his 
intrenchments,  with  a  loss  of  full  five  thousand  men, 
while  the  Union  loss  was  only  seventeen  hundred  and 
thirty-three,  which  fell  almost  entirely  on  Hooker's  corps, 
all  of  which,  except  Newton's  corps,  went  into  the  tight 
without  their  usual  intrenchments.  On  the  22d,  Hood 
having  fallen  back  from  his  line  of  defence  along  Peach- 
tree  creek  to  his  final  interior  position  of  redoubts,  form 
ing  the  outer  line  of  the  defences  of  Atlanta  proper, 
resolved  to  stake  all  upon  a  single  die,  and  putting 
force  enough  into  his  intrenchments  to  hold  them, 
massed  all  the  rest  of  his  army,  and  hurled  it  with  terri 
ble  force  against  Sherman's  left.  At  first  a  part  of  the 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


Union   lines  gave   way,  for  McPherson's   position   was 
not  fully  established;  but  they  soon  rallied,  and  grew 
stronger  under  the  assaults  of  the  enemy.     Six  times  did 
Hood  fling  his  massed  columns  on  the  Union  lines,  at 
tacking  in  turn  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth 
corps,  but  at  night,  after  one  of  the  bloodiest  and  most 
skilfully    fought    battles  of  the   war,  victory    perched 
on  the  Union  banners.     Thirty-two  hundred  and  forty  of 
the  enemy's  dead,  a  vast  number  of  his  wounded,  and 
ten  hundred  and  seventeen  unhurt  prisoners  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Union  troops.     Hood's  entire  loss  could 
not  have  been  less  than  twelve  thousand.     Five  thousand 
stand  of  arms,  and   eighteen  stand  of  colors  were   cap- 
tared     The  Union  loss,  by  official  count,  was  seventeen 
hundred  and   twenty-two;    but   among   the   slain    was 
Major-General  James  B.  McPherson,  the  commander  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  skilful  officers  in  the  Union  service.     His  loss  was 
a  great  national  misfortune ;  and  none  felt  it  more  deeply 
than  General  Sherman.     On  receiving  intelligence  of  his 
death,  he  was  affected  to  tears,  and  in  his  report  he  al 
ludes  to  it  in  terms  which  show  how  tenderly  he  loved 
him.     "He  was,"  he  says,  «a  noble  youth,  of  striking 
personal  appearance,  of  the  highest  professional  capacity, 
and   with  a  heart  abounding  in  kindness,  that  drew  to 
him  the  affections  of  all  men." 

General  Sherman  had  on  the  21st  sent  General  Gar- 
rard  with  a  cavalry  force  to  break  the  Augusta  railroad, 
and  destroy  the  bridges  over  the  Yellow  and  Ulcofau- 
hatchee  rivers  in  the  vicinity  of  Covington,  Georgia ;  and 
on  the  23d  he  returned,  having  completely  accomplished 
that  work,  and,  in  addition,  burned  a  train  of  cars, 
2,000  bales  of  cotton,  and  large  amounts  of  stores  at 
Covington  and  Conyer's  station,  and  brought  in  200 


GENERAL     SHERMAN. 


prisoners.  General  Sherman  now  planned  a  more  ex 
tensive  expedition,  having  for  its  object  the  destruction 
of  the  Atlanta  and  Macon  as  well  as  the  West  Point 
railroad,  his  intention  being  to  isolate  Atlanta  from  all  its 
communications,  and  thus  compel  its  surrender.  The 
expedition  was  to  consist  of  two  columns,  one  of  5,000 
cavalry,  under  the  command  of  General  Stoueman,  a 
cavalry  officer  of  high  reputation,  the  other  of  4,000 
mounted  troops,  under  command  of  General  McCook. 
They  were  to  move  off  in  different  directions,  one  to, 
wards  McDonough,  the  other  towards  Fayetteville,  and 
having  done  what  they  could  separately,  unite  at  or  near 
Lovejoy's  station,  and  destroy  the  Macon  road  thoroughly 
for  many  miles.  General  Stoneman  asked  permission, 
after  this  was  accomplished,  to  take  his  own  proper  com 
mand,  and  go  on  to  release  the  Union  prisoners,  then 
suffering  at  Andersonville.  General  McCook  performed 
his  part  of  the  work  speedily  and  well,  but  from  some 
unexplained  cause,  General  Stoneman  failed  completely, 
and  was  himself  taken  prisoner  with  several  hundred  of 
his  men,  and  McCook  was  placed  in  a  critical  position, 
and  compelled  to  fight  his  way  out.  The  whole  expedi 
tion  proved  a  failure,  and  lost  to  the  commanding  gen 
eral  a  very  considerable  portion  of  his  cavalry,  which  he 
could  not  well  afford  to  lose. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  Hood,  having  been  led  by  the 
purposed  movements  of  the  Union  troops  of  the  Fifteenth 
corps  to  believe  that  he  could  catch  the  right  flank  of  the 
army  "  in  air,"  again  massed  his  forces,  and  assaulted 
that  part  of  the  Union  lines  with  the  utmost  desperation, 
repeating  his  assaults  six  times,  but  found  the  Union  forces 
perfectly  ready  for  him  on  each  occasion,  his  men  only 
reaching  their  lines  to  be  killed  or  hauled  over  as  pris 
oners.  His  loss  in  that  battle  was  fully  5,000,  while  Lo- 
13 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

gan,  whoso  corps  was  the  one  principally  engaged,  lost 
less  than  GOO.  In  the  three  battles  of  the  20th,  22d,  and 
28th  of  July,  Hood  had  thus  nearly  one  half  of  his  force 
thrown  hors  du  combat,  for  Johnston  states  in  his  report 
that  the  troops  he  transferred  to  him  on  the  17th  of  July 
consisted  of  about  41,000  infantry  and  artillery,  and  10,000 
cavalry.  He  received,  however,  about  this  time  a  con 
siderable  reinforcement  of  the  Georgia  militia,  who, 
though  of  little  value  for  purposes  of  assault,  were  ser 
viceable  as  garrison  troops,  and  mingled  with  his  veter 
ans,  who  had  no  appetite  for  further  offensive  warfare, 
lay  safely  ensconced  behind  the  impregnable  defences  of 
Atlanta. 

General  Sherman  now  extended  his  lines  southwest- 
ward  towards  East  Point,  in  the  hope  of  drawing  the 
enemy  out,  from  the  fear  of  having  his  communications 
severed ;  but  Hood  extended  his  fortified  line  correspond 
ingly,  and  refused  to  abandon  his  works.  It  began  to 
be  evident  that  Atlanta  could  only  be  captured  by 
another  flank  movement  of  the  whole  army,  a  matter  of 
great  difficulty,  as  it  involved  the  apparent  raising  of  the 
siege,  and  the  dependence  of  his  army  for  supplies  on  the 
stores  accumulated  at  Marietta,  from  which  he  must 
necessarily  be  separated  by  the  Chattahoochie  river,  and 
a  considerable  distance  of  travel  over  bad  roads.  He 
therefore  resolved  to  try  first  the  expedient  of  a  bom 
bardment  of  the  city,  and,  if  unsuccessful  in  that,  to  try 
again  the  flanking  process.  Just  at  this  juncture,  he 
learned  that  the  rebel  General  Wheeler  with  the  greater 
part  of  Hood's  cavalry  had  gone  northward  to  attack  his 
communications  between  Allatoona  and  Chattanooga, 
and  as  he  had  abundant  supplies  below  that  point,  he 
welcomed  this  movement  as  taking  the  reb^l  cavalry  out 
of  the  way,  and  leaving  him  a  fair  field.  He  now  dis- 


GENERAL     SHERMAN. 


14:7 


patched   Kilpatrick  with   5,000   cavalry   to  break  the 
West  Point  and  Macon  railroads  so  thoroughly  as  to  ren 
der  them  impassable.   This,  General  Kilpatrick  attempted 
to  do,  bat  in  the  haste  with  which  he  operated,  he  die 
not  disable  the  roads  sufficiently  to  prevent  their  speedy 
repair,  and  General  Sherman  found  it  necessary  to  move 
his  whole  army.     Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the  25th 
of  August  he  commenced  the  movement,  sending  the 
Twentieth  corps,  now  under  the  command  of  General  H. 
S.  Williams,  back  to  the  Chattahoochie,  and  with  it  all  sur 
plus  wagons,  ambulances,  and  incumbrances  of  all  kinds, 
as  well  as  all  the  sick  and  wounded,  who  were  carefully 
placed  within    the    strongly  intrenched  position  there. 
Schofield  remained  in  position,  and  the  Army  of  the  Ten 
nessee  moved  westward  towards  Sandtown  and  Camp 
creek,  as  if  about  to  cross  the  Chattahoochie,  while  the 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  proceeded  in  the  same  di 
rection,   though   not   so   far.     Hood   congratulated    his 
troops  that  the  siege  of  Atlanta  was  raised,  and  that  the 
Union   army,  alarmed  for  its  communications,  menaced 
by  Wheeler,  was  about  to  turn  back  to  rescue  them. 
On  the  night  of  the  27th,  Sherman's  troops  had  reached 
the  West  Point  railroad,  in  the  vicinity  of  East  Point 
and  below,  and  the  28th  was  devoted  to  the  destruction 
of  that  road,  twelve  and  a  half  miles  of  which  were  so  ef 
fectually  obliterated,  that  there  was  no  danger  of  their  be 
ing  renewed  for  months,  and  on  the  29th,  the  army  was 
directed  to  move  on  the  Macon  road,  and  when  opportu 
nity  occurred,  destroy  that  in  the  same   way.      They 
marched  in  three  columns,  and  on  the   29th,  30th,  and 
31st,  had  considerable  skirmishing  with  Lee's  and  Har- 
dee's  corps,  which  Hood  had  sent  to  oppose  them  as 
soon    as  he  found  that  it  was  his  communications  m- 
Btead  of  their  own  that  the  Union  troops  were  bent  on 


148 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


occupying.  General  Howard  had  some  fighting  (he  was 
now  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee)  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  30th  with  the  rebel  cavalry;  and  on  the 
31st,  Lee  and  Hardee  attacked  him  in  his  temporary  in- 
trenchments,  near  Jonesboro,  and  were  repulsed  with  a 
loss  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  hundred.  On  the  1st  of 
September,  the  Macon  railroad  was  destroyed  for  several 
miles,  and  General  J.  C.  Davis,  supported  by  Howard 
and  Blair,  assaulted  Lee  and  Hardee,  and  defeated  them, 
capturing  one  brigade  and  two  four-gun  batteries.  The 
next  day  they  pursued  the  enemy  as  far  as  Lovejoy's 
station. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  night  of  the  first  of  September, 
Hood  blew  up  his  ammunition  trains,  and  retreated  south 
ward  from  Atlanta,  which  was  occupied  the  next  day  by 
the  Twentieth  corps.     The  remainder  of  the  army  came 
back  by  easy  marches  to  Atlanta,  and  General  Sherman, 
having  determined  to  make  Atlanta  a  strictly  military 
post,  directed  the  removal  of  all   the  civilians  fr.om  it, 
sending  those  who  were  loyal  northward,  and  turning 
the  disloyal  over  to  General  Hood,  with  such  precau 
tions  for  the  prevention  of  suffering  as  could  be  devised. 
Hood,  smarting  under  a  sense  of  being  thoroughly 
outgeneralled,  was  exceedingly  restive,  and  determined 
to  revenge  himself  on  his  skilful  antagonist.     The  loss  of 
Atlanta  was  a  severe  one  to  the  leaders  of  the  self-styled 
Confederacy,  and  they,  too,  were  determined  that  they 
would  not  only  win  it  back,  but  would  recover  Northern 
Georgia   and  East  and  Middle  Tennessee.     The  rebel 
president,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Macon  in  the  latter 
part  of  September,  declared  that  this  should  be  accom 
plished,  and  gave  his  instructions  to  General  Hood  for 
effecting  it.     On  the  24th  of  September,  Hood  suddenly 
transferred  his  army,  which  had   been  encamped  near 


HBBREyiATjONS&C. 

TH THOMAH 

HC.P....MAC  PHEKSON 

SCH SCHOFIELO 

HO HOWARD 

H HOOKER 

„..-  REBSLWORKS 


150 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


Lovejoy's  station  on  the  Macon  railroad,  to  Newnan  on 
the   West  Point  road.     Sherman  kept  a  watchful  eye 
upon  his  movements,  and  reconnoitred  frequently  in  his 
vicinity.     On  the  27th  of  September,  he  discovered  that 
he  was  moving  towards  the  Chattahoochie ;  and  on  the 
1st  of  October,  that  he  had  crossed  that  river  and  concen 
trated  his   forces  at  Powder  Springs,  near  Dallas,  Ga. 
On  the  3d  of  October,  General  Sherman,  who  had  previ 
ously   strengthened    his   garrisons   along   the    railroad, 
started  in  pursuit,  and  on  the  5th,  when  Hood's  advance 
assaulted  Allatoona,  he  was  on  Kenesaw  mountain,  signal- 
ling  to  the  garrison  at  Allatoona,  over  the  heads  of  the 
enemy,  to  hold  out  till  he  relieved  them.     The  rebels 
were  repulsed  at  this  point  with  heavy  loss,  and  finding 
themselves  pressed  in  the  rear  by  Sherman's  forces,  they 
moved  westward,  and  crossing  the  Etowah  and  Oosta- 
naula  rivers  by  forced  marches,  attacked  Dalton  on  the 
12th,  which  was  surrendered  by  the  cowardly  officer  in 
command.      Finding  himself  still  pressed  by  Sherman, 
Hood  obstructed  Snake  Creek  gap,  and  crossing  through 
the  gap  in  Pigeon  mountain,  entered  Lafayette,  whither 
Sherman  followed  and  sought  to  bring  on  a  battle.    This 
Hood  was  not  anxious  for,  and  he  accordingly  retreated 
southward  to  Gadsden,  Ala.,  where  he  intrenched  him 
self,  taking  possession  of  Will's  Creek  gap  in  Lookout 
mountain.    Sherman  followed  him  to  Gaylesville,  but  no 
further. 

It  was  generally  supposed  that  this  was  the  end  of 
Hood's  raid  upon  the  Union  lines  of  communication,  and 
that  he  would  retreat  still  further  south,  towards  central 
Alabama  and  Mississippi.  But  Sherman  had  better  com- 
prehended  his  strategy,  and  was  prepared  to  meet  it  by 
a  stroke  of  counter-strategy,  evincing  his  possession  of 
the  highest  order  of  military  genius.  He  knew  that 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  151 

Dick  Taylor  had  moved  up  to  Tuscumbia,  Alabama,  and 
reasoned  that  Hood  would  join  him,  and  the  two,  serving 
under  Beauregard  would  strike  a  blow  ere  long  for  the 
recovery  of  Middle  Tennessee  ;  and  if  successful,  then 
for  East  Tennessee  also.  But  he  felt  that  Tennessee 
would  be  safe  in  charge  of  his  trusty  lieutenant,  General 
Thomas,  to  whom  he  could  assign  a  force  sufficient  to 
grapple  with  Hood,  Taylor,  or  Beauregard ;  while  for 
himself  he  had  projected  a  campaign  which  would  speedily 
cripple  the  power  of  the  rebels.  Turning  eastward 
then  from  Gaylesville,  he  announced  to  his  army  that  he 
should  follow  Hood  no  longer,  but  let  him  go  north  as 
far  as  he  please.d.  "  If  he  will  go  to  the  river,"  he  said, 
"I  will  give  him  his  rations."  Giving  his  instructions  to 
General  Thomas,  and  dividing  his  army  so  as  to  spare 
him  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  and  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  he  moved  southeast  towards  Atlanta 
by  the  1st  of  November,  causing  the  railroad  track  to  be 
removed  from  Atlanta  to  Chattanooga,  and  sent  to  the 
latter  city, — the  property  of  value  at  Atlanta  and  along 
the  line  having  been  first  sent  to  Chattanooga,  which 
thenceforward  became  the  outpost  of  the  Union  armies 
in  that  direction.  On  the  4th  of  November  he  began 
his  preparations  for  his  ne\v  movement,  and  the  same 
day  telegraphed  his  intentions  to  Washington,  in  the 
following  words:  "Hood  has  crossed  the  Tennessee. 
Thomas  will  take  care  of  him  and  Nashville,  while 
Schofield  will  not  let  him  into  Chattanooga  orKnoxville. 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina  are  at  my  mercy — and  I 
shall  strike.  Do  not  be  anxious  about  me.  I  am  all 
right."  The  campaign  he  had  projected  was  neither 
more  nor  less  than  this.  With  the  four  corps,  and  the 
fine  cavalry  force  still  under  his  immediate  command,  an 
army  of  not  far  from  sixty  thousand  infantry  and  artillery, 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


and  about  ten  thousand  cavalry,  he  purposed  cutting 
loose  from  all  bases,  and  constituting  a  strictly  movable 
column,  with  thirty  or  forty  days'  rations,  and  his  train 
reduced  to  the  smallest  possible  dimensions,  to   move 
south-eastward,  through  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  coun 
try,  upon  Savannah ;  and  thence,  should  circumstances 
favor,  northward   through  South    Carolina   and   North 
Carolina,  to  compel  the  surrender  or  evacuation  of  Rich 
mond.     The  project   was  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
ever  conceived  by  a  military  commander.     The  distances 
were  great,  and  the  obstacles  which  might  be  interposed 
unknown ;  yet,  impelled  by  a  will  "  that  could  greatly 
dare  and  do,"  while   adopting  all   needful  precautions 
against  surprise  or  disaster,  he  moved  forward  boldly  to 
the  execution  of  his  plan.      As  a  preliminary  step,   be 
deemed  it  necessary  to  destroy  all  the  public  buildings  in 
Atlanta.     He  then  moved  forward  in  two  columns,  Gen 
eral  Howard  commanding  the  right  and  General  Slocum 
the  left,  while  his  cavalry  covered  his  flanks,  and  a  part 
of  it  now  in  advance,  and  now  far  in  rear,  mystified  the 
enemy  continually  as  to  his  intentions. 

General  Howard's  column  moved  through  East  Point, 
Rough  and  Ready,  Griffin,  Jonesboro,  McDonough,  For- 
sythe,  Hillsboro,  Monticello,  and  bridging  the  Ocmulgee 
entered  Milledgeville  on  the  20th  of  November.  Here 
General  Sherman  made  his  headquarters  for  a  few  days, 
while  Howard  moved  on  through  Saundersville,  Gris- 
wold,  towards  Louisville,  the  point  of  rendezvous,  with 
the  left  wing.  That  wing,  under  the  command  of  Gen 
eral  Slocum,  had  meantime  passed  through  Decatur, 
Covington,  Social  Circle,  Madison ;  made  a  feint  of  an 
attack  upon  Macon ;  passed  through  Buckhead  and 
Queensboro,  and  dividing,  one  detachment  moved  to 
wards  Augusta,  and  the  other  to  Eatonton  and  Sparta. 


154  OUR   GEE  AT    CAPTAINS. 

Uniting  again,  they  entered  Warrenton,  and  thence 
moved  to  Louisville,  where  they  joined  the  right  wing ; 
and  passing  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Ogeechee  to  Mil- 
len,  and  thence  to  the  Savannah  canal,  where  on  the  9th 
of  December,  by  means  of  scouts,  they  communicated 
with  General  Foster  and  Admiral  Dahlgren,  who  had 
been  awaiting  their  arrival.  In  this  whole  march,  of 
about  300  miles  neither  of  the  main  columns  had  en 
countered  any  serious  opposition.  There  had  been  oc 
casional  skirmishing,  but  with  very  slight  results.  The 
cavalry  had  had  one  or  two  conflicts  with  Wheeler's 
cavalry,  but  had  repulsed  them  after  a  brief  fight.  The 
rebels  had  concentrated  what  troops  they  could,  includ 
ing  militia  and  conscripts,  into  their  service  to  oppose 
the  daring  march  of  Sherman  ;  but  they  were  not  able  to 
assemble  enough  of  these  to  oppose  any  considerable  re 
sistance  to  his  progress,  and  from  his  feints  upon  Augusta 
and  Macon  they  were  led  to  throw  them  into  those  cities, 
where  they  were  completely  out  of  his  way.  -r  Bragg,  who 
was  in  command  of  these  troops,  was  thus  beguiled  into 
remaining  at  Augusta,  and  thus  when  Savannah  was  ac 
tually  assailed  could  not  come  to  its  relief.  On  the  13th 
of  December,  General  Sherman  carried  Fort  McAllister 
by  storm.  By  some  strange  oversight  on  the  part  of  - 
General  Hardee,  who  was  in  command  at  Savannah,  it 
had  a  garrison  of  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  By 
the  capture  of  this  fort,  General  S-herman  could  commu 
nicate  directly  with  the  fleet.  On  the  16th  he  summoned 
the  city  of  Savannah  to  surrender.  General  Hardee  re 
plied,  refusing,  and  announcing  his  determination  to  hold 
the  city  to  the  last.  Thereupon  Sherman  commenced 
investing  the  city,  and  bringing  heavy  siege-guns  into 
position,  he  was  prepared  to  commence  its  bombard 
ment,  his  lines  inclosing  it  on  all  sides,  except  the  north 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  155 

and  east,  where  the  river  and  the  Union  causeway  lead 
ing  to  Charleston  were  not  yet  fully  commanded  by  his 
fire.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  the  rebel  ironclads 
moved  up  the  river,  and  commenced  a  furious  fire  on 
the  Union  left,  supported  by  several  of  the  rebel  bat 
teries.  This  fire  was  continued  all  night,  and  under 
cover  of  it  Hardee  escaped  with  his  entire  force,  burning 
the  navy  yard  partially,  and  destroying  such  stores  as 
he  could  not  remove.  The  two  rebel  ironclads  were 
blown  up  during  the  night.  The  next  morning  (Dec. 
21st),  General  Sherman  entered  the  city,  which  was  en 
tirely  uninjured.  The  captures  included  over  one  thou 
sand  prisoners,  one  hundred  and  fifty  guns,  thirteen  lo 
comotives,  one  hundred  and  ninety  cars,  a  large  supply 
of  ammunition  and  materials  of  war,  three  steamers,  and 
thirty-three  thousand  bales  of  cotton  safely  stored  in 
warehouses.  Over  twenty  thousand  slaves,  freed  by  the 
expedition,  accompanied  it  to  Savannah.  The  entire 
losses  of  the  expedition  were  less  than  four  hundred 
men.  It  had  destroyed  over  two  hundred  miles  of  rail 
road,  and  thus  effectually  broken  the  enemy's  communi 
cations  with  Hood's  or  Beauregard's  army  in  Alabama 
and  Tennessee.  Kilpatrick  was  sent  at'  once  on  an  ex 
pedition  with  cavalry  and  infantry  to  destroy  thoroughly 
the  Gulf  railroad,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing  for  forty 
or  fifty  miles.  Having  reduced  Savannah  to  order,  and 
conciliated  the  inhabitants  by  his  wise  measures,  General 
Sherman  issued  the  following  congratulatory  order  to  his 
troops : 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  ) 
IN  THE  FIELD,  SAVANNAH,  Ga.,  Jan.  8,  1865.     ) 

"  Spesiol  Field  Orders,  No.  6. 

"The  general  commanding  announces  to  the  troops 
composing  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi  that 


156 


ODE   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


he  has  received  from  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  from  Lieutenant  General  Grant,  letters  conveying 
the  high  sense  and  appreciation  of  the  campaign  just 
closed,  resulting  in  the  capture  of  Savannah  and  the  de 
feat  of  Hood's  army  in  Tennessee. 

In  order  that  all  may  understand  the  importance  of 
events,  it  is  proper  to  revert  to  the  situation  of  affairs  in 
September  last.  We  held  Atlanta,  a  city  of  little  value 
to  us,  but  so  important  to  the  enemy,  that  Mr.  Davis, 
the  head  of  the  rebellious  faction  in  the  South,  visited  his 
army  near  Palmetto,  and  commanded  it  to  regain  it,  as 
well  as  to  ruin  and  destroy  us  by  a  series  of  measures 
which  he  thought  would  be  effectual. 

That  army,  by  a  rapid  march,  first  gained  our  rail 
road  near  Big  Shanty,  and  afterwards  about  Dalton.  We 
pursued,  but  it  marched  so  rapidly  that  we  could  not 
overtake  it,  and  General  Hood  led  his  army  successfully 
far  towards  Mississippi,  in  hopes  to  decoy  us  out  of  Geor 
gia.  But  we  were  not  then  to  be  led  away  by  him,  and 
purposed  to  control  events  ourselves.  Generals  Thomas 
and  Schofield,  commanding  the  department  to  our  rear, 
returned  to  their  posts,  and  prepared  to  decoy  General 
Hood  into  their  meshes,  while  we  came  on  to  complete 
our  original  journey. 

We  quietly  and  deliberately  destroyed  Atlanta  and  all 
the  railroad  which  the  enemy  had  used  to  carry  on  war 
against  us  ;  occupied  his  State  capital,  and  then  captured 
his  commercial  capital,  which  had  been  so  strongly  forti 
fied  from  the  sea  as  to  defy  approach  from  that  quarter. 

Almost  at  the  moment  of  our  victorious  entry  into 
Savannah  came  the  welcome  and  expected  news  that  our 
comrades  in  Tennessee  had  also  fulfilled,  nobly  and  well, 
their  part ;  had  decoyed  General  Hood  to  Nashville,  and 
then  turned  on  him,  defeating  his  army  thoroughly,  cap- 


GENERAL   SHEKMAN.  157 

turing  all  his  artillery,  great  numbers  of  prisoners,  and 
were  still  pursuing  the  fragments  down  mto  Alabama. 
So  complete  a  success  in  military  operations,  extending 
over  half  a  continent,  is  an  achievement  that  entitles  it 
to  a  place  in  the  military  history  of  the  world. 

The  armies  serving  in   Georgia  and  Tennessee    as 
well  as  the  local  garrisons  of  Decatur,  Bridgeport,  Chat 
tanooga,  and   Murtreesboro,  are   alike   entitled   to   the 
common  honor,  and  each  regiment  may  inscribe  on  it 
colors  at  pleasure  the  words  «  Savannah"  or    Nashville^ 
The    general  commanding    embraces    in    the    sam. 
general  success  the  operations  of  the  cavalry •column 
fnder   Generals  Stoneman,  Burbridge,  and  Gillem  that 
penetrated  into  Southwestern  Virginia,  and  paraded 
The  efforts  of  the  enemy  to  disturb  the  peace  and  safety 
of  the  people  of  East  Tennessee.     Instead  of  being  put 
on  the  defensive,  we  have,  at  all  points,  assumed  the 
bold  offensive,  and  completely  thwarted  the  designs  of 
the  enemies  of  our  country. 

^Maj.-Gen.  W.  T.  SHERMAN. 
L.  W.  DAYTON,  Aid-de-Camp. 

But  his  work  was  not  yet  completed,  Sou*  Carolina 
was  U  be  humbled,  the   surrender  of  Charleston,  the 
"nest  of  the  rebellion,"  compelled,  Columbia  to  be  cap 
tured,  and  North  Carolina  to  be  occupied     His  troops 
refreshed  and  recruited,  and  largely  reinforced  he  moved 
lout  the  Hth  of  January,  northward,  the  Fifteenth  and 
Seventeenth  corps  going  by  transports  to  Beaufort,  b.  C, 
and  thence  joined  by  Foster's  command,  moving  on  the 
Savannah  and  Charleston  railroad,  and  the  Fourteenth 
and  Twentieth  corps,  crossing  the  Savannah  river  a  Jew 
later.    Delayed  at  first  by  the  overflowmg  of  the  swamps 
from  the  heavy  rains,  and  the  terrible  condition  of  the 


158 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


roads,  he  struck  the  railroad  between  Branchville  and 
Charleston,  early  in  February,  compelled  the  enemy  to 
evacuate  Branchville  on  the  llth  of  February,  and  broke 
up  the  South  Carolina  railroad,  for  sixty  or  seventy 
miles,  thus  preventing  any  reinforcement  from  the  West, 
and  moved  north,  entering  Orangeburg  on  the  16th  of 
February,  and  Columbia,  the  capital  of  South  Carolina, 
on  the  18th,  Beauregard  having  evacuated  it  in  great 
haste  on  his  approach.  Charleston  being  flanked  by  this 
movement,  its  evacuation  was  compelled  without  a  fight, 
and  Hardee  retreated,  after  setting  fire  to  the  cotton, 
ammunition,  <fcc.,  which  caused  a  conflagration  which  laid 
two-thirds  of  the  business  portion  of  the  city  in  ashes.  On 
the  morning  of  February  18th,  the  Union  troops  from 
Morris  Island  entered  the  city,  and  the  stars  and  stripes 
once  more  floated  over  the  ruins  of  Fort  Sumter. 

From  Columbia  the  Seventeenth  and  Twentieth  corps 
moved  in  two  columns  upon  Winnsboro,  thirty  miles  north 
on  the  Columbia  and  Charlotte  railroad,  the  Seventeenth 
destroying  the  railroad,  and  twisting  the  rails  so  that 
they  could  not  be  used  again.  From  Winnsboro, 
where  they  found  many  of  the  refugees  from  Charleston 
and  Columbia,  General  Sherman  sent  Kilpatrick's  cav 
alry  still  northward  towards  Chesterville,  to  keep  up  the 
delusion  of  Beauregard,  who  believed  that  he  was  mov 
ing  on  Charlotte,  and  was  laboring  very  diligently  to 
obstruct  his  progress  in  that  direction;  but  Sherman  him- 

*  The  burning  of  a  considerable  portion  of  Columbia,  which 
Wade  Hampton  charged  upon  General  Sherman,  was  really  the 
work  of  degraded  camp  followers,  who  had  become  drunk  on 
whiskey  famished  by  the  inhabitants.  General  Sherman  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  extinguish  the  flames,  and  about  twenty 
of  the  soldiers  of  the  right  wing  were  kiUed  or  seriously  injured 
in  the  effort  to  arrest  the  conflagration. 


i 

GENERAL   SHERMAN.  15£ 

self  with  his  main  army  moved  directly  eastward,  crossing 
the  Catawba  or  Wateree  nearly  east  of  Winnsboro,  am. 
moving  his  left  wing  directly  towards  Cheraw,  while 
the  right  threatened  Florence.  It  was  while  in  the  vil 
cinity  of  the  Catawba  that  intelligence  came  of  the  evac 
uation  of  Charleston  as  the  result  of  Sherman's  flanking 
movement,  and  great  were  the  rejoicings  of  the  army 
thereat.  A  heavy  rain  which  came  on  at  this  time,  and 
damaged  General  Howard's  pontoons,  occasioned  some 
delay,  and  enabled  the  rebels  to  concentrate  their  forces 
at  Cheraw  and  its  vicinity.  Thus  far  the  Union  army 
had  encountered  no  serious  opposition  in  its  whole  march 
from  Savannah,  and,  indeed,  had  hardly  seen  any  rebel 
troops ;  but  now  there  seemed  a  prospect  that  the  rebels 
would  make  a  stand,  and  the  Union  leader,  as  cautious 
as  enterprising  and  daring,  made  all  preparations  to  avoid 
a  surprise  or  repulse.  The  left  wing  had  moved  to  Ches 
terfield,  northwest  of  Cheraw,  while  the  right  (Howard's), 
passing  through  Camden,  and  delayed  one  day  by  the 
injury  to  their  pontoons,  had  found,  on  approaching  within 
thirteen  miles  of  Cheraw  fom  the  southwest,  the  enemy's 
pickets  in  their  front,  and  indications  of  a  battle  in  reserve 
not  far  distant.  They  moved  forward,  however,  after  put 
ting  themselves  in  communication  with  the  left  wing,  and 
on  the  3d  of  March,  after  a  short  and  not  very  severe  battle, 
captured  and  occupied  Cheraw,  taking  twenty-five  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  a  large  quantity  of  small-arms  and  ammuni 
tion.  The  rebel  force  which  opposed  their  progress 
proved  not  to  be  as  large  as  was  at  first  supposed,  consist 
ing  of  a  division  of  Wade  Hampton's  cavalry,  and  the 
infantry  which  had  been  in  Charleston.  They  fled  most 
precipitately  across  the  Great  Pedee,  and  could  not  get 
their  cannon  across,  but  succeeded  in  burning  the  bridge. 
On  the  next  day  (March  4th)  the  army  celebrated  Mr 


160 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


Lincoln's  second  inauguration,  firing  a  salute  from  the 
Blakely  guns  captured  from  the  enemy.     A  part  of  these 
cannon,  and  a  large  amount  of  commissary  stores,  suffi 
cient  to  supply  nearly  two  corps  of  Sherman's  army,  had 
been  brought  from   Charleston  to  Cheraw,  as  a  place  of 
safety.     After  leaving  Columbia,  the  rapidly  increasing 
mass  of  refugees,   black  and  white,   who  followed  the 
army,  were   organized  into  an   emigrant  train,  and  put 
under  the  charge  of  the  officers  and  men  who  had  escaped 
from  the  rebel  prisons   at  Salisbury  and  elsewhere  on 
the  route.     Under  the  direction  of  their  escort  they  for 
aged  for  themselves,  and  being  supplied  liberally   with 
horses  and  mules,  wagons  and  other  vehicles,  of  which 
large     numbers    were    taken    along    the    route,    they 
moved  on   with  very  little  expense   or  trouble  to  the 
army.     General  Sherman  had  won  the  good-will  of  the 
negroes,  both  during  this  and  his  Savannah   campaign, 
by  his  thoughtful  interest  in  their  welfare.     On  the  route 
to  Savannah,  as  well  as  in  this  campaign,  he  took  great 
pains  to  make  them  understand  that  they  were  free,  and 
to  aid  them  in  securing  and  maintaining  their  freedom. 
Consulting  at  Savannah  their  preachers  and  most  intelli 
gent  men,  as  to  the  course  best  adapted  to  conduce  to 
their  future  elevation  and  independence,  he  established 
colonies  of  them  on  the  Sea-islands  and  the  coast,  where 
they  could  have  their  lands  in   fee-simple,  and  cultivate 
the   Sea-island   cotton   and   rice,  and   have  schools  and 
churches  established  for  them ;  and  during  his  campaign 
northward  he  advised  those  who  could  to  go  to  Charleston 
after  its  evacuation,  and   procure  work,  and  commence 
the  life  of  freemen.     To  those  who  followed  the  army  in 
the   emigrant  train,  he  was  uniformly  kind,  and  on  sev 
eral  occasions   explained  to  them  very  clearly  their  new 
condition  and  responsibilities.     The  poor,  ignorant,  but 


GENERAL  SHERMAN. 

truly  loyal  freedmen,  looked  upon  him  as  almost  a  divinity ; 
and  it  was  to  them,  at  all  times,  a  sufficient  reason  for 
doing  or  abstaining  from  doing  any  thing,  if  they  learned 
that  "  Massa  Sherman"  wished  it. 

On  the  afternoon  and  night  of  the  6th  of  March,  the 
Union  army  crossed  the  Great  Pedee  river  in  safety,  and 
swept  forward  the  next  day,-the  main  army,  m  four 
columns,  moving  on  Laurel  Hill  and  Montpeher,  North 
Carolina,  and  the  cavalry,  under  Kilpatnck,  guarding  the 
extreme  left,  and  approaching  Rockingham,  North  Car 
olina,  where  they  came  in  contact  with  Butler's  division 
of  Wade  Hampton's  cavalry,  which  they  repulsed  with 
considerable  loss.     The  four  columns,  with _  th< .cavalry, 
in  moving  from  the  Pedee,  covered  a  belt  of  count.y 
forty  miles  in  width.     On  the  8th  the  central  columns 
entered  Laurel  Hill,  N.  C.,  and  found  the   people   of 
North  Carolina  much  more  favorably  inclined  towards 
the  Union  than  those  of  South  Carolina.    The  army  now 
refrained  from  destroying  every  thing  m  their  line 
march,  as  they  had  done  in  South  Carolina,  and  frater 
nized   o  some  extent  with  the  inhabitants.     On  the  9th 
of  March  they  crossed  the  Little  Pedee,  or  Lumber 
creek,  as  it  is  called  in  the  higher  part  of  its  course,  and 
owing  to  the  snaggy   condition   of  the   ^ream   built 
bridges  across,  rather  than  use  their  pontoons.     A  long 
anfheavy  rain  delayed   somewhat  their   approach  to 
Fayetteville,  but  that  place  was  reached  on  the  llth  o 
March     On  the  10th  the  rebel  General  Hampton  ap 
proached,  before  daylight,  Kilpatrick's  headquarters,  at 
Monroe's  plantation,  and  at  first  captured  his  guns  and 
^considerable  number  of  prisoners ;  but  KUpatnck  ralhed 
his  men,  repulsed  the  enemy,  recaptured  his  men  an 
guns,  and  drove  Hampton  off  with  severe  loss.    She, 
Ln  here  communicated  with  Schofield  at  Wilmington, 


163  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

and  reported  his  army  in  fine  condition,  and  his  move, 
mcnt  thus  far  without  serious  loss.  Indeed  his  losses  up 
to  this  time  had  been  mostly  in  foragers,  who  had  been 
pounced  upon  by  Wade  Hampton's  cavalry,  and  mur 
dered  and  mutilated  in  cold  blood,  after  surrendering. 
Of  these  victims  to  brutality,  there  were  nearly  one  hun 
dred.  General  Sherman  had  some  sharp  correspondence 
with  the  rebel  general  on  the  subject,  and  declared  his 
determination  to  retaliate  unless  these  cowardly  murders 
were  stopped ;  and  Hampton,  though  making  a  bluster 
ing  reply,  killed  no  more.  Up  to  the  date  of  his  arrival 
at  Fayetteville,  the  results  of  this  campaign  of  Sherman 
had  been  :  fourteen  cities  captured,  hundreds  of  miles  of 
railroads  and  several  thousands  of  bales  of  cotton  de 
stroyed  ;  eighty-five  cannon,  four  thousand  prisoners, 
and  twenty-five  thousand  horses,  mules,  and  cattle  taken, 
and  fifteen  thousand  refugees,  black  and  white,  set  free. 
After  a  delay  of  two  days  at  Fayetteville,  General  Sher 
man  again  moved  forward,  the  rebel  General  Bragg 
having  meantime  attacked  Schofield  at  Kingston,  and 
been  defeated  with  heavy  loss.  General  Sherman  had 
fixed  upon  the  vicinity  of  Goldsboro,  as  the  place 
where  he  would  form  a  junction  with  Schofield,  and  the 
22d  of  March  as  the  time — before  leaving  Savannah — 
and  having  brought  his  army  thus  far  in  time,  he  was 
disposed  to  move  with  moderation,  to  allow  Schofield 
time  to  reach  the  rendezvous.  On  the  15th  of  March 
Johnston  attacked  Kilpatrick's  cavalry  at  Moore's  cross 
roads,  about  four  miles  from  Averysboro,  and  at  first 
pushed  it  back,  with  some  loss ;  but  a  division  of  the 
Fourteenth  corps  coming  up,  the  Union  troops  held  their 
position.  The  next  day,  March  16th,  the  Twentieth  and 
Fourteenth  corps  attacked  the  rebels,  who  were  in  large 
force,  near  Averysboro,  and  after  a  sharp  battle  drove 


GENERAL  SHERMAN. 

thera  from  the  field,  with  the  loss  of  their  guns,  and 
leaving  their  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field. 

She?man,who  had  met  with  but  small  loss,  now  moved 
Jlard  towards  Goldsboro;  but  it  was  a  n«  <* 
Johnston's  position  that  he  must,  if  possible   defeat  and 
Sp     his  great  antagonist  before  he  could  form  a  junc- 
fwith  sLfield,  as  that  once  effected,  Ins  own .force 
would  be  so  greatly  inferior,  that  there  could  be  no  hope 
of  success  for  him.      Accordingly,  bring  ng  Ins  entire 
force  (he  had  about  forty  thousand  effectwe  men    by  a 
forced  march,  into  position  at  Bentoimlle,  on  the  1 9th  of 
March,  he  massed  them,  and  flung  them  upon  tb TJmon 
lines  of    Slocum's    (left)    wing   with   the   utmost   tury. 
Morgan's  division  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  was  ^ad 
vance  of  the  line  of  Union  defences,  and  th.s  was  dnvtn 
back   and   doubled  upon   itself  by  the  sudden   attack, 
5h  the  loss  of  three  guns.     General  Slocum  promptly 
brought  up  the  remainder  of  the  Fourteenth  corps  and 


£*!%•  and  wounded,  and  many  of  them  had 
fallen   within  the  breastworks    over  which    they  had 
h  own  themselves  in  their  fury.     But  the  veterans  of  the 
-  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  corps  had  withstood  too  many 
headlong  charges  from  the  rebels  to  give  way,  they 
stood  fim  as  a  rock,  and  repelled  every  charge  with 
££  and  canister,   and   a   -st  deadly  musketry-t-re 
111  at  length,  exhausted  with  then-  efforts,  and Jfodmg 
that  they  could  not  make  any  impression  on  bhenrnm 
troops,  thev  withdrew  sullenly  to  their  lines. 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


day,  March  20th,  was  spent  in  intrenching  and  strength 
ening  the  position  the  Union  troops  had  taken  ;  and  the 
right  wing  having  come  up,  moved  forward,  and  flanked 
the  enemy's  position,  keeping  up  a  brisk  artillery  fire 
upon  them  meanwhile.  Finding  that  their  communica 
tions  with  Raleigh  were  threatened,  the  rebels  attempted 
to  fall  back  on  Smithfield,  but  were  pressed  so  closely  by 
the  Union  forces,  that  they  lost  seven  guns,  and  more 
than  two  thousand  prisoners  were  captured  from  their 
army,  while  the  deserters  came  in  by  hundreds. 

General  Sherman,  who  had  sent  some  of  his  staff  to 
Goldsboro  on  the  22d,  came  in  himself  with  his  army  on 
the  23d,  having  previously  issued  the  following  order. 

"  HEADQUARTERS,  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  ) 
IN  THE  FIELD,  NEAR  BENTONVILLE,  N.  C.,  t 

"Special  Field  Orders,  No.  ZS.  March  22,  1865.      ) 

"  The  general  commanding  announces  to  the  army,  that 
yesterday  it  beat,  on  its  chosen  ground,  the  concentrated 
armies  of  our  enemy,  who  has  fled  in  disorder,  leaving 
his  dead,  wounded,  and  prisoners  in  our  hands,  and  bum- 
ing  his  bridges  on  his  retreat. 

"  On  the  same  day  Major-General  Schofield,  from  Kew- 
bern,  entered  and  occupied  Goldsboro,  and  Major-General 
Terry,  from  Wilmington,  secured  Cox's  bridge  crossing 
and  laid  a  pontoon  bridge  across  Neuse  river,  so  that  our 
campaign  has  resulted  in  a  glorious  success.  After  a 
march  of  the  most  extraordinary  character,  nearly  five  hun 
dred  miles,  over  swamps  and  rivers  deemed  impassable  to 
,  others,  at  the  most  inclement  season  of  the  year,  and  draw 
ing  our  chief  supplies  from  a  poor  and  wasted  country, 
we  reach  our  destination  in  good  health  and  condition. 

"  I  thank  the  army,  and  assure  it  that  our  Govern 
ment  and  people  honor  them  for  this  new  display  of  the 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  165 

physical  and  moral  qualities  which  reflect  honor  upon  the 
whole  nation. 

"  You  shall  now  have  rest,  and  all  the  supplies  that  can 
be  brought  from  the  rich  granaries  and  storehouses  of 
our  magnificent  country,  before  again  embarking  on  new 

and  untried  dangers. 

"W.  T.  SHERMAN, 
"  Major-General  Commanding." 

General  Sherman  reported  to  General  Grant  that  his 
entire  losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  from 
the  time  of  leaving  Savannah  till  he  encamped  with  his 
army  around  Goldsboro,  were  less  than  twenty-five 
hundred  men. 

After  disposing  his  army  in  camp  at  Goldsboro, 
and  giving  orders  for  their  immediate  supply  with  shoes 
and  clothing,  General  Sherman  hastened  to  City  Point, 
for  an  interview  with  General  Grant  and  the  President. 
'He  arrived  on  Monday  evening,  March  27th,  and  re 
turned  the  next  day.  The  campaign  was  ended,  and 
though  a  new  one  might  commence  within  a  week,  Gen 
eral  Sherman  was  disposed  to  allow  his  soldiers  all  the 
time  for  rest  and  recovery  from  fatigue  possible,  before 
entering  upon  it.  Between  his  army,  augmented  by  the 
corps  of  Schofield  and  Terry,  and  the  fine  army  of  Grant, 
the  rebellion  was  evidently  destined  to  be  crushed  as  be 
tween  the  upper  and  nether  millstone.  The  two  armies 
were  separated  by  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and 
a  railroad,  which  could  be  rapidly  put  in  order,  connected 
them.  Other  forces  were  pressing  upon  the  rebel  com 
munications  from  the  west,  and  within  a  few  weeks,  at 
furthest,  the  toils  would  be  woven  so  thickly  about  the 
army  and  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  that  escape  would 
be  impossible.  It  was  a  time  when  waiting  with  up 
lifted  arm  ready  to  strike,  was  better,  perhaps,  than 


166 


OUR   GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


fighting,  and  the  two  great  captains  could  wait  as  well 
as  fight. 

The  delay  was  not,  however,  of  long   duration.     By 
the  utmost  diligence  the  army  was  refitted  and   sup- 
plies  gathered  in,  so  that  on  the  10th  of  April  his  columns 
were  all  again  in  motion.     Smithfield  was  entered  on  the 
1 1th,  with  only  slight  skirmishing,  Johnston   retreating 
across  the  Neuse,  and  burning  the  bridges  behind  him  ; 
the  Neuse  was  crossed  the  next  day,  and  the  intelligence 
of  Lee's  surrender  having  come  to  the  army,  they  pressed 
on  through  deep  mud  and   horrible  roads,  and  entered 
Raleigh  on  the  13th,  and  the  cavalry  advanced  to  Dur 
ham  Station,  the  infantry  of  the  right  wing  following  as 
fast  as  they  could.     In  order  to  cut  off  Johnston's  re- 
treat,  General  Sherman,  unaware  that  Stoneman  had  al 
ready  captured    Salisbury,    now  made   preparations   to 
move  his  army  diagonally  across  the  railroad,  which  at 
Greensboro'    turns    sharply   southwestward.       By   this 
movement  he  would  save  a  very  considerable  march  for 
his  troops.     On  the  14th  he  received  from  General  John 
ston  a  letter  desiring  an  interview,  with  a  view  to  a  capit 
ulation.     General  Sherman  replied,   agreeing   to    meet 
him  at  a  point  intermediate  between  the  two  armies  on 
the  17th  at  noon,  provided  no  change  was  made  in  the 
status  of  the  two  armies.     This  was  agreed  to,  and  at 
this  meeting  General  Johnston  acknowledged  the  hope 
lessness  of  the  contest  and  the  liberal  terms  granted  to 
General  Lee,  but  asked   that  some  provisions  might  be 
inserted  in  his  terms  of  surrender  which  would  enable 
him  to  allay  the  natural  anxieties  and  fears  of  his  soldiers, 
and  to  maintain   his  control  over  them  until  they  could 
be  got  back  to  the  neighborhood  of  their  homes,  thereby 
saving  the  State  of  North  Carolina  from  serious  devasta 
tion.     He  also  desired  to  embrace  in  the  surrender  the 


GENERAL    SHERMAN.  107 

other  rebel  armies  still  in  existence — Taylor's,  Kirby 
Smith's,  etc.  General  Sherman  met  him  very  frankly, 
and  expressed  his  gratification  at  the  sentiments  he  utter 
ed  ;  but  finding  that  he  had  not  then  the  power  to  bind 
the  rebel  army  of  Texas,  the  negotiation  was  postponed 
till  the  next  day,  when  Johnston  asked  that  Breckinridge 
might  be  present ;  to  this  Sherman,  after  some  hesitation, 
acceded.  The  result  of  the  next  day's  deliberations  was 
the  drawing  up  of  the  following  memorandum,  to  be 
submitted  for  approval  to  the  higher  authorities  on  both 
sides,  a  truce  to  exist  meanwhile.  The  delay  was  of  ad 
vantage  to  Sherman,  as  it  enabled  him  to  finish  his  rail 
road  to  Raleigh  and  bring  up  supplies. 

MEMORANDUM  or  basis  of  agreement,  made  this  18th  day  of  April, 
A.  D.  1865,  near  Durham's  Station,  and  in  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  by  and  between  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  com 
manding  the  Confederate  Army,  and  Major-General  William 
T.  Sherman,  commanding  the  Army  of  the  United  States  in 
North  Carolina,  both  present : 

First.  The  contending  armies  now  in  the  field  to  maintain  their 
statu  quo  until  notice  is  given  by  the  commanding  general  of 
either  one  to  his  opponent,  and  reasonable  time,  say  forty-eight 
hours,  allowed. 

Second.  The  Confederate  armies  now  in  existence  to  be  dis 
banded  and  conducted  to  the  several  State  capitals,  there  to  de 
posit  their  arms  and  public  property  in  the  State  arsenal,  and 
each  officer  and  man  to  execute  and  file  an  agreement  to  cease 
from  acts  of  war,  and  abide  the  action  of  both  State  and  Federal 
authorities.  The  number  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war  to  be  re 
ported  to  the  chief  of  ordnance  at  Washington  city,  subject  to 
future  action  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the 
mean  time  to  be  used  solely  to  maintain  peace  and  order  within 
the  borders  of  the  States  respectively. 

Third.  The  recognition,  by  the  Executive  of  the  United  States, 
of  the  several  State  Governments,  on  their  officers  and  Legisla 
tures  taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 


168  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

States ;  and  when  conflicting  State  Governments  have  resulted 
from  the  war,  the  legitimacy  of  all  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Su~ 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Fourth.  The  re-establishment  of  all  Federal  courts  in  the  several 
States,  with  powers  as  defined  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws 
of  Congress. 

Fifth.  The  people  and  inhabitants  of  all  States  to  be  guaran 
teed,  so  far  as  the  Executive  can,  their  political  rights  and  fran 
chise,  as  well  as  their  rights  of  person  and  property,  as  defined 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  States  respec 
tively. 

Sixth.  The  executive  authority  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  not  to  disturb  any  of  the  people  so  long  as  they  live  in 
peace  and  quiet,  abstain  from  acts  of  armed  hostility,  and  obey 
laws  in  existence  at  any  place  of  their  residence. 

Seventh.  In  general  terms,  war  to  cease,  a  general  amnesty,  so 
far  as  the  executive  power  of  the  United  States  can  command,  or 
on  condition  of  disbandment  of  the  Confederate  armies  and  the 
distribution  of  arms  and  resumption  of  peaceful  pursuits  by  officers 
and  men  as  hitherto  comprising  the  said  armies.  Not  being  fully 
empowered  by  our  respective  principals  to  fulfil  these  terms,  we 
individually  and  officially  pledge  ourselves  to  promptly  obtain 
necessary  authority,  and  to  carry  out  the  above  programme. 

W.  T.  SHERMAN,  Major-General, 

Commanding  the  Army  of  the  United  States 
in  North  Carolina. 

J.  E.  JOHNSTON,  General, 

Commanding  Confederate  States  Army 
in  North  Carolina. 

The  terras  thus  proposed  were  inadmissible,  and  by 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Cabinet,  General  Grant  con 
curring,  were  disallowed.  The  provisions  of  it,  if  grant 
ed,  would  have  proved  unjust  to  many  of  those  who  had 
contributed  most  largely  to  the  national  success,  and 
might  have  resulted  in  serious  trouble  and  disaster  to 


GENERAL  SHERMAN.  169 

the  interests  of  a  permanent  peace.  It  was,  also,  an  as 
sumption  of  the  power  of  the  military  leaders  to  adjust 
the  civil  questions  growing  out  of  the  war,  which,  if  per 
mitted,  would  have  proved  fatal  to  the  authority  of  civil 
government,  and  had  been  expressly  forbidden  to  General 
Grant  about  two  months  previous.  Of  this,  however, 
General  Sherman  was  not  aware;  and  the  authority 
which  had  been  deputed  to  him  to  deal  with  the  ques 
tion  of  the  status  of  freedmen,  etc.,  at  Savannah,  led  him 
to  suppose  that  he  was  not  transcending  the  limits  which 
were  allowable  in  this  case.  In  military  ability  and 
genius  he  was  far  superior  to  both  Johnston  and  Breck- 
inridge,  but  in  diplomacy  the  crafty  ex-Vice-President 
outwitted  him. 

Yet,  blunder  as  this  agreement  undoubtedly  was,  it 
afforded  no  just  ground  for  the  aspersions  which,  for  a 
brief  period,  were  cast  upon  the  reputation  of  the  gal 
lant  general  and  hero.  No  more  loyal  heart  than  that 
of  William  T.  Sherman  beats  on  this  continent,  and  none 
more  desirous  of  the  nation's  success  and  prosperity.  It 
was  his  over-anxious  desire  for  peace,  from  his  ample 
knowledge  and  experience  of  the  horrors  of  war,  his 
wish  to  close  at  one  stroke  the  conflict  already  protracted 
over  four  years,  and  his  belief— erroneous,  indeed,  but 
honestly  entertained— that  in  a  general  pacification  im 
portant  matters  would  right  themselves,  which  led  him 
to  enter  into  this  conditional  agreement ;  and  while  we 
dissent  from  the  measure,  we  cannot  but  admire  the  mo 
tives  which  prompted  him  to  initiate  it. 

General  Grant  hastened  to  Raleigh,  and  explaining 
the  objections  to  the  measure,  requested  General  Sher 
man  to  give  notice  to  General  Johnston  of  the  rejection 
of  the  memorandum  and  the  resumption  of  hostilities  at 

15 


170  OTJR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

the  end  of  forty-eight  hours.  Before  the  expiration  of 
that  period,  General  Johnston  solicited  another  inter 
view  ;  and  General  Grant,  fully  persuaded  of  General 
Sherman's  ability  and  patriotism,  wisely  left  to  him  the 
negotiations ;  and  on  the  26th,  General  Johnston  surren 
dered  to  him  on  the  terms  made  by  General  Grant  to 
General  Lee.  In  all,  about  29,000  men  were  surrendered 
by  this  capitulation,  which  embraced  every  thing  east  of 
Dick  Taylor's  command,  which  extended  to  the  Chatta- 
hoochie. 

The  surrender  made,  General  Sherman  hastened  to 
Savannah  and  Hilton  Head,  to  arrange  for  permanent 
garrisons  at  Augusta  and  other  points  within  the  limits 
of  his  command,  and  returned  to  Morehead  City  on  the 
4th  of  May.  During  his  absence  he  had  seen  the  pub 
lished  orders  of  General  Halleck  (who  had  certainly 
transcended  his  authority)  and  of  Secretary  Stanton, 
which  directed  his  subordinate  officers  to  pay  no  regard 
to  his  truce.  That  this  measure  was  ill-advised,  all  par 
ties  now  admit ;  and  that  it  excited  his  indignation, 
which  found  vent  in  his  report  of  May  9th,  is  not  sur 
prising.  The  matter  was  subsequently,  through  the  in 
tervention  of  General  Grant,  so  far  harmonized  that  the 
parties  were  on  terms  of  courtesy  towards  each  other, 
but  hardly  of  cordiality. 

After  the  review  of  his  troops  at  Washington,  on  the 
23d  and  24th  of  May,  General  Sherman  obtained  a  short 
leave  of  absence,  the  first  in  many  months,  and  visited 
New  York,  West  Point,  and  the  other  Northern  and 
Western  cities.  An  attempt  was  made  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  Ohio  to  nominate  him  for  Governor,  but 
he  promptly  declined,  expressing  his  firm  determination 
not  to  be  a  candidate  for  any  political  honors,  and 


GENERAL    SHERMAN. 


171 


heartily  indorsing  General  Cox,  the  Republican  candi 
date,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  his  own  army.  On  the 
27th  of  June,  1865,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Govern 
ment  to  the  command  of  the  new  military  division  of 
the  Mississippi,  embracing  the  Department  of  the  Missouri 
(including  the  Northwest  States  and  Territories,  and 
Arkansas  and  the  Indian  Territory).  His  headquarters 
are  at  St.  Louis. 

In  person,  General  Sherman  is  tall,  slender,  but  vigor 
ous,  and  capable  of  extraordinary  endurance  of  fatigue. 
His  eyes  are  gray,  his  hair  and  whiskers  sandy,  with  a 
reddish  tinge.     His  temperament  is  highly  nervous,  and 
he  is  one  of  the  most  restless  of  men,  constantly  in  mo 
tion,  and   as  constantly  smoking  ;   he  requires  but  little 
sleep,  and  is  a  close   and  somewhat  abstracted  thinker. 
His  manners  are  usually  somewhat  stern,  or,  as  a  New 
Englander  would  say,  gruff;  partly,  perhaps,  from  his 
quick,  nervous  way  of  speaking,  and  partly  from  the  im- 
periousness  of  his  will,  which  brooks  no  opposition,  and 
a  naturally  harsh  temper— a  fault  which  he  freely  admits, 
though   he   seldom  controls   it.     He   is  careless   in  his 
dress,  and   has  no  aspirations   to  be  a  military  dandy. 
He  has  a  mind  well  cultivated   by  reading  and   study, 
and  is  especially  familiar  with   ancient  and  modern  his 
tory.     He  possesses  decided  ability  as  a  writer,  express 
ing  himself  with   great   terseness   and  force,  and  often 
condensing  a  whole  volume  of  military  law  in  a  single 
sentence.     His  style  is,  however,  somewhat   marred  by 
his  habit  of  using   short,  jerky  sentences.     In  conversa 
tion  he  is  very  rapid  and  vehement,  his  sentences  short, 
and  uttered  in  an  imperious  way.     His  decisions  are  so 
quick  as  to  seem  to  be  intuitions,  but  are  very  rarely 
wrong. 


172 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


Innumerable  anecdotes  are  told  of  him  which  illustrate 
these  traits  of  his  character.     Just  at  the  commencement 
of  his  Atlanta  campaign,  while  he  was  straining  every 
nerve  to  push  forward  supplies  for  his  army,  the  Chris 
tian  Commission  telegraphed  him,  asking  for  transporta 
tion  for  two  of  their  delegates,  eminent  clergymen  of 
New  York,  to   visit   his  army  with  stores,  tracts,  &c. 
"  Certainly  not,"  was  the  prompt  reply,  "  crackers  and 
oats  are  more  necessary  for  my  men  than  ministers  and 
tracts."     Though  in  general  entertaining  a  dislike  for 
much  of  the  female  nursing  in  the  camps  and  hospitals, 
he  had  taken  a  fancy  to  a  Mrs.  Bickerdyke,  a  resolute, 
daring,  strong-limbed,  and   strong-lunged  woman,  who 
had  really  accomplished  a  vast  amount  of  good  by  her 
care  for  the  interests  of  the  private  soldiers,  especially 
those  who  were  sick  or  wounded,  and  would  grant  her 
requests  almost  uniformly,  even  when  he  denied  others 
the  same  favors.     Mrs.  Bickerdyke  was  a  sworn  enemy 
to  indolent  and  unfaithful  army  surgeons,  and  often  pro 
cured  their  dishonorable  discharge  when  they  were  in 
competent  or  neglectful  of  their  duties.     One  of  these 
surgeons  who  found  himself  summarily  discharged  from 
the    service    through   her  influence,  went   to   General 
Sherman  and  asked  to  be  reinstated,  alleging  that  his 
character  had  been  misrepresented.      "Who   got  you 
discharged?"  asked  the  general.     "I  was  unjustly  dis 
charged,"  said  the  surgeon,  evasively.     "  But  who  got 
you  discharged  ?"  persisted  the  general.     "  Why,  I  sup 
pose    it    was    that    woman,    that    Mrs.    Bickerdyke." 
"  Ah !"   said  Sherman,  puffing  at  his  cigar,  violently ; 
"  well,  if  it  was  Bickerdyke,  I  can't  do  any  thing  for  you. 
She  ranks  me." 

To  him,  there  are  no  such  things   as  impossibilities. 
In   March,    1864,  finding  that  only  ninety  car-loads  of 


GENERAL   SHERMAN.  173 

rations  daily  were  forwarded  from  Nashville  to  Chatta* 
nooga,  he  insisted  that  the  number  must  be  quadrupled, 
and  going  to  Louisville,  he  extended  the  Louisville  and 
Nashville  railroad  three  miles  to  the  Ohio  river  within 
two  days,  brought  the  Jeffersonville  railroad  to  the 
north  bank  of  the  river,  seized  a  ferry-boat,  and  had  it 
fitted  up  for  transporting  locomotives  and  cars,  had  in 
clined  planes  erected,  impressed  as  many  locomotives  and 
cars  as  he  wanted  from  the  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ohio 
railroads,  and  rushed  them  through  to  Nashville.  In 
less  than  a  month  the  railroad  agents  were  running  two 
hundred  and  seventy  cars  per  day  through  to  Chatta 
nooga,  but,  not  satisfied  with  this,  he  required  a  report 
daily  of  the  additions  made  to  the  rolling-stock,  and  on 
the  28th  of  April  had  his  three  hundred  and  sixty  cars 
daily  running  to  Chattanooga.  On  his  march  from  Sa 
vannah  to  Goldsboro,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles, 
the  roads  for  great  portions  of  the  distance  had  to  be 
corduroyed,  and  bridges  built  over  many  of  the  streams, 
yet  he  required  and  secured  a  march  of  from  twelre  to 
fifteen  miles  a  day  with  his  immense  army,  a  greater 
rapidity  of  movement  for  a  large  infantry  force,  in-  so 
long  a  march,  than  was  ever  recorded  in  history.  No 
wonder  that  when  he  reached  Goldsboro  twenty  thou 
sand  of  his  men  were  without  shoes. 

General  Sherman  is  idolized  by  his  men.  They  know 
that  he  cares  for  them,  and  harsh  and  stern  as  he  may 
be  to  speculators,  cotton-buyers,  or  even  civilians  or  offi 
cers  who  come  to  his  headquarters  when  he  is  out  of 
humor,  no  private  soldier  ever  comes  to  him  to  have  a 
wrong  redressed  who  does  not  have  a  patient  hearing 
and  a  just  decision.  His  foresight  and  comprehension 
of  all  the  possible  moves  of  the  enemy,  and  his  skill  in 
providing  for  them,  are  remarkable,  and  exhibit  in  the 
15* 


OUR   GEEAT   CAPTAINS. 


strongest  light  his  military  genius.  His  patriotism  is 
undoubted  and  fervent.  Knowing  what  the  Southern 
people  are,  and  what  they  have  done,  he  expostulates 
with  them  in  strong  terms,  but  never  attempts  to  pal 
liate  their  conduct,  or  to  intimate  that  any  thing  short  of 
submission  will  secure  to  them  the  restoration  of  their 
former  privileges. 

A  letter  of  his,  written  in  the  summer  of  1864  to  a 
lady  in  Baltimore,  whom  he  had  known  years  ago 
"playing  as  a  school-girl  on  Sullivan's  Island  beach," 
expresses  his  sentiments  on  this  subject  so  eloquently, 
that  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  it.  In  justifica 
tion  of  the  war,  he  says  : 

"  All  I  pretend  to  say  is,  on  earth  as  in  heaven,  man 
must  submit  to  some  arbiter.  He  must  not  throw  off 
his  allegiance  to  his  Government  or  his  God  without  just 
reason  and  cause.  The  South  had  no  cause—  not  even 
a  pretext.  Indeed,  by  her  unjustifiable  course,  she  has 
thrown  away  the  proud  history  of  the  past,  and  laid  open 
her  fair  country  to  the  tread  of  devastating  war.  She 
bantered  and  bullied  us  to  the  conflict.  Had  we  declined 
battle,  America  would  have  sunk  back,  coward  and 
craven,  meriting  the  contempt  of  all  mankind.  As  a 
nation,  we  were  forced  to  accept  battle,  and  that,  once 
begun,  it  has  gone  on  till  the  war  has  assumed  propor 
tions  at  which  even  we,  in  the  hurly-burly,  sometimes 
stand  aghast.  I  would  not  subjugate  the  South  in  the 
sense  so  offensively  assumed,  but  I  would  make  every 
citizen  of  the  land  obey  the  common  law,  submit  to  the 
same  we  do—  no  worse,  no  better—  our  equals,  and  not 
our  superiors." 

He  adds:  "God  knows  how  reluctantly  we  accepted 
the  issue  ;  but  once  the  issue  joined,  like,  in  other  ages, 
the  Northern  race,  though  slow  to  anger,  once  aroused, 


GENERAL   SHERMAN. 

are  more  terrible  than  the  more  inflammable  of  the 
South  Even  yet  my  heart  bleeds  when  I  see  the 
carnage  of  battle,  the  desolation  of  homes,  the  bitter 
anguish  of  families;  but  the  very  moment  the  men  of 
the  South  say,  that  instead  of  appealing  to  war  they 
should  have  appealed  to  reason,  to  our  Congress  to 
our  Courts,  to  religion,  and  to  the  experience  of  his 
tory,  then  will  I  say,  Peace  !  Peace  !  Go  back  to  your 
point  of  error,  and  resume  your  place  as  American  cit 
sens,  with  all  their  proud  heritages." 

With  all  his  impatience  of  restraint,  General  Sherman 
has  always  manifested  his  recognition  of  the  maxim,  that 
«  unhesitating  obedience  is  the  first  duty  of  the  soldier." 
Though  often  tried  sorely  in  this  regard,  he  has  never 
failed^to  obey  any  order  from  his  superiors  in  command, 
however  distasteful,  with  the  utmost  promptness.     His 
fealty  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant  is  honorable  to  both. 
It  is  related  that  a  distinguished  civilian,  who  visited  him 
at  Savannah,  desirous  of  ascertaining  his  real  opinion  o 
General  Grant,  began  to  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  depre 
ciation.       "It  won't  do;  it  won't  do,  Mr.  -  -,»    said 
Sherman,  in  his  quick,  nervous  way;    "General  Grant 
is  a  great  general     I  know  him  well.      He  stood  by 
me  when  I  was  crazy,  and   I    stood  by  him  when  he 
was   drunk  ;*  and    now,  sir,  we   stand   by  each   < 

always." 

In  short,  while  we  acknowledge,  as  he  does  also,  most 
frankly,  that  General  Sherman  is  not  wholly  free  from 
faults,  we  think  he  has  fairly  won  the  right  of  being 
reckoned  as  one  of  the  half-dozen  great  captains  ot 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  that  none  of  his  compeers 
have  cause  to  feel  ashamed  of  his  company. 

maliciously  circulated  of  Sherman's  in 


sanity  and  Grant's  intemperance. 


(  UNWEF 


III. 

Major-General  George  H,  Thomas, 

AMONG  the  few  men  of  Southern  birth  and  education, 
who,  at  a  period  of  wide-spread  delusion  and  infatuation, 
were  not  beguiled  into  following  the  ignis-fatuus  of 
the  State  Rights  heresy,  men  who,  like  Milton's  Abdiel, 
in  the  midst  of  the  rebellious  host  of  fallen  angels,  were 

"  Faithful  among  the  faithless  found," 

Major-General  Thomas  stands  conspicuous  alike  in  the 
purity  of  his  character,  the  intensity  of  his  devotion  to 
the  national  cause,  his  undaunted  bravery,  and  successful 
generalship. 

Born  in  Southampton  county,  Va.,  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  Old  Dominion,  and  of  a  family  possessing  far  more 
than  ordinary  claims,  both  in  wealth  and  social  position, 
to  rank  among  the  F.  F.  V.'s,  he  was  never,  for  a  mo 
ment,  influenced  by  the  twaddle  which  men  in  high  posi 
tion  were  not  ashamed  to  utter,  of  the  necessity  of  "  going 
with  their  State,"  but  promptly  acknowledged,  and 
firmly  held  to  his  allegiance  to  the  national  flag  and  the 
national  cause,  as  paramount  to  all  State  ties,  and,  from 
the  first  dawn  of  the  rebellion,  threw  all  the  energies  of 
his  great  soul  into  the  work  of  suppressing  it. 

He  was  born,  as  we  have  said,  in  Southampton  county, 
Va.,  July  31,  1816.  His  father,  John  Thomas,  was  of 
English,  or  more  probably,  remotely  of  Welsh  descent ; 
his  mother,  Elizabeth  Rochelle,  of  an  old  Huguenot  family, 
and  both  wealthy,  respectable,  and  highly  connected. 


178 


OUR   GKEAT   CAPTAIN'S. 


His  early  education  was  obtained  at  the  best  schools  of 
that  portion  of  Virginia,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years  he  accepted  the  position  of  deputy  clerk  of  the 
county,  under  his  uncle,  James  Rochelle,  then  county 
clerk,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.      In  the 
spring  of  1836,  through  the  influence  of  family  friends, 
he  received  an  appointment  as  cadet,  and  entered  the 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point  the  following  June.    In 
June,  1840,  he  graduated  twelfth  in  a  class  of  forty-five, 
and  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  in  the  3d  Artillery 
on  the  1st  of  July.     In  November  of  the  same  year  he 
joined  his  regiment  in  Florida,  eighteen  months  before 
the  termination  of  the  first  Florida  war.     A  year  later 
(November  6, 1841)  he  was  brevetted  first  lieutenant  "for 
gallant  conduct  in  the  war  against  the  Florida  Indians." 
In  January,  1842,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  New 
Orleans  barracks,  and  in  June  of  the  same  year  to  Fort 
Moultrie,  Charleston  harbor.     In  both  these  migrations, 
Lieutenant  Thomas  accompanied  them.     In  December, 
1843,  he  was  ordered  to  duty,  with  company  C  of  his 
regiment,  at  Fort  McHenry,  Md.     On  the  17th  of  May, 
1843,  he  was  promoted  to  a  first-lieutenancy,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1844,  joined  company  E  at  Fort  Moultrie. 

As  there  were  indications  of  approaching  war  with 
Mexico,  Lieutenant  Thomas  was  sent  with  his  company 
to  Texas  in  July,  1845,  with  orders  to  report  to  General 
Zachary  Taylor.  They  arrived  at  Corpus  Christi  the 
same  month,  in  company  with  the  Third  and  Fourth  regi 
ments  of  infantry,  being  the  first  United  States  troops  that 
occupied  the  soil  of  Texas.  Company  E  and  its  lieutenant 
marched  with  the  army  of  occupation  from  Corpus 
Christi  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  with  one  company  of 
the  First  Artillery  and  six  of  the  Seventh  U.  S.  in 
fantry,  was  left  to  garrison  Fort  Brown,  opposite  Ma- 


GENERAL   THOMAS.  If9 

tamoras;  while  General  Taylor,  with  the  main  body 
of  his  army,  fell  back  to  Point  Isabel,  to  establish  a 
depot  of  supplies  there. 

On  the  2d  of  May  the  Mexicans  invested  Fort  Brown, 
and  the  garrison  sustained  a  bombardment  until  the  af 
ternoon  of  the  8th,  when  the  Mexican  troops  abandoned 
the  siege,  and  went  to  reinforce  General  Ampudia  at  Re- 
saca  de  la  Palma,  that  general  having  been  on  that  day 
driven  from  Palo  Alto  by  General  Taylor,  while  march 
ing  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Brown.  On  the  9th,  General 
Taylor  defeated  the  Mexicans  at  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
and  drove  them  across  the  Rio  Grande,  near  the  fort,  the 
garrison  contributing  to  this  decisive  victory  by  pouring 
an  unintermitting  fire  of  shot  and  shell  into  the  disordered 
masses  of  the  retreating  enemy,  as  they  rushed  in  confu 
sion  to  the  river  to  escape  the  advancing  columns  of 
General  Taylor.  After  the  evacuation  of  Matamoras, 
Lieutenant  Thomas  was  detached  from  his  company 
with  a  section  of  his  battery,  and  for  nearly  four  months 
assigned  to  duty  with  the  advance  guard,  first  at  Rey- 
nosa,  and  afterwards  at  Camargo.  In  September  he  re 
joined  his  command,  and  marched  to  Monterey,  and  for 
his  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Monterey,  Sept.  23d, 
1846,  was  brevetted  captain.  About  the  1st  of  No 
vember  be  took  command  of  Company  E  as  senior  lieu 
tenant,  retaining  it  till  February  14,  1847.  In  December, 
1846,  he  was  again  placed  in  the  advance  with  Quitman's 
brigade,  and  entered  Victoria  about  January  1,  1847. 
During  this  month  General  Scott,  having  assumed  com 
mand  of  the  army  in  the  field,  ordered  General  Taylor 
to  select  a  division,  and  with  it  occupy  the  country  he 
had  conquered.  General  Taylor  selected,  among  other 
troops,  companies  C  and  E  of  the  Third  Artillery,  and 
returned  to  Monterey  about  the  last  of  January.  Soon 


OUR   GREAT  CAPTAINS. 

after,  Santa  Anna  advanced  upon  him  with  a  force  qua 
druple  that  of  Taylor,  and  on  the  21st  of  February  the 
bloody  but  decisive  battle  of  Buena  Vista  was  fought, 
and  resulted  in  the  complete  defeat  of  Santa  Anna,  and 
the  dispersion  of  his  army.  In  this  battle  Lieutenant 
Thomas  greatly  distinguished  himself,  receiving  the 
highest  encomiums  of  his  commander,  and  on  the  23d 
of  February  he  was  brevetted  major  for  his  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct. 

In  August,  1848,  he   recrossed  the  Rio  Grande  into 
Texas,  having  been  among  the  first  to  enter  and  among 
the  last  to  leave  the  Mexican  territory.     In  September, 
1848,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  commissary  depot  at 
Brazos  Santiago,  and  in  December  was  granted  a  six 
months'  leave  of  absence,  the  first  he  had  had  since  enter 
ing  the  service.     In  June,  1849,  he  rejoined  his  company 
at  Fort  Adams,  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  on  the  31st  of  July 
was  placed  in  command  of  company  B  of  the  Third  Ar 
tillery,  with  which  he  was  ordered  in  September  to  pro 
ceed  to  Florida,  to  put  down  an  Indian  outbreak  there. 
He  remained  on  duty  in  Florida  till  December,  1850, 
when  he  received  orders  to  go  to  Texas,  but  on  reaching 
New  Orleans  found  later  orders  directing  him  to  report 
for  duty  at  Fort  Independence,  Boston- harbor.      He  re 
mained   at  Fort  Independence  till  March   28th,  1851, 
when  he  was  relieved  by  Captain  Ord,  and  assigned  to 
duty  at  West  Point  as  Instructor  of  Artillery  and  Cav 
alry.     He  remained  at  West  Point  about   three  years, 
having  in  December,   1853,  been  promoted   to   a   full 
captaincy. 

On  leaving  West  Point,  Captain  Thomas  took  com 
mand  of  a  battalion  of  artillery,  and  sailed  for  California, 
via  Panama.  On  his  arrival  at  Benicia  barracks  he  was 
assigned  to  Fort  Yuma,  Lower  California,  and  reaching 


GENERAL   THOMAS. 


that  place  July  15th,  with  two  companies  of  artillery,  he 
relieved  Major  Heintzelman.     The  next  year  Congress 
authorized  an  increase  of  four  regiments  in  the  army, 
two  of  infantry,  and  two  of  cavalry,  and  Captain  Thomas 
received  the  appointment  of  junior  major  in  the  Second 
Cavalry,   and,   on   the   18th   of  July,    1855,   left  Fort 
Yuma  to  join  his  regiment  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mis 
souri.     In  the  following  spring  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  Texas,  where  he  was  on  duty  from  May  1st,  1856,  to 
November  1st,  1860.    During  this  time  he  was  for  three 
years  in  command  of  the  regiment,  and  in  August,  1859, 
headed  the  escort  which  accompanied  the  Texas  Reserve 
Indians  to  their  new  home  in  the  Indian  Territory.     In 
the  autumn  of  1859,  and  the  winter,  spring,  and  summer 
of  1860,  he  was  engaged  in  an  examination  of  the  coun 
try  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Canadian  and  Red  rivers, 
and  the  Conchas,  and  collected  much  valuable  geograph 
ical  information  concerning   those   regions   which   had 
previously  been   entirely  unexplored.     He  had,  during 
his  last  expedition,  a  rencounter  with  a  party  of  preda 
tory  Indians,  whom  he  defeated,  and  recaptured  from 
them  all  the  animals  they  had  stolen  from  the  settle 
ments.    In  this  skirmish  he  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 
face     In  November,  1860,  he  obtained  a  short  leave  of 
absence,  the  second  in   more  than  twenty  years.     In 
April   1861,  he  was  ordered  to  Carlisle  Barracks,  Penn 
sylvania,  to  remount  the  Second  Cavalry,  which   had 
been  dismounted  and  ordered  out  of  Texas,  by  the  traitor 
Twio-0-s     When  he  arrived,  two  companies  had  already 
been  °mounted,   and   sent   to  Washington ;    four  more 
were  sent  forward  at  once,  and  the  remaining  four  were 
assigned  to  duty  under  his  command,  in  the  department 
of  Pennsylvania.     On  the  25th  of  April,  Major  Thomas 
was  promoted  to  a  lieutenant-colonelcy,  and  on  the  5th 
16 


182  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

of  May  appointed  colonel  of  the  Fifth  U.  S.  Cavalry. 
In  the  same  month  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of 
a  brigade  in  General  Patterson's  army,  in  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  and  afterwards  held  the  same  position  under  Gen 
eral  Banks. 

On  the  17th  of  August  he  was  appointed  a  brigadier- 
general  of  Volunteers,  and  on   the   26th   was  relieved 
from  duty  with  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  and  or 
dered  to  report  to  Brigadier-General  Robert  Anderson, 
commanding  the  Department  of  the  Cumberland.    On  his 
arrival  at  Louisville,  September  6th,  he  was  at  once  as 
signed  to  the  command  of  Camp  Dick  Robinson,  fifteen 
miles   southeast  of  Nicholasville,  Kentucky,  which    he 
reached  September  15th,  and  relieved  Lieutenant  Nel 
son,  U.  S.  N.  (afterwards  Major-General  Nelson,  U.  S.  V.). 
Here  were  about  six  thousand  troops  collected  by  Nel 
son,   and  Thomas  soon   greatly  increased  the  number, 
and  having  organized  them,  sent  four  regiments  of  in 
fantry,  a  battalion  of  artillery,  and  Woolford's  cavalry, 
under  command  of  Brigadier-General  Schoepf,  to  Rock- 
castle    hills,  thirty   miles    southeast,  to  establish   Camp 
Wildcat,  and  resist  the  advance  of  the  rebels,  who,  un 
der  General  Zollicoffer,  had  entered  Kentucky  through 
Cumberland  Gap.     On  the  26th  of  October  the  battle 
of  Wildcat  was  fought,   and   Zollicoffer  defeated,  and 
driven  back  to  Cumberland  Gap  by  the  Union  troops, 
under  the  personal  command  of  General  Schoepf.     Im 
mediately  after  this  battle,  General  Thomas  moved  his 
headquarters  to  Crab   Orchard,  and  began  preparations 
for  an  advance  into  East  Tennessee ;  but  General  Buell, 
who  commanded  the  department,  being  desirous  of  driv 
ing  the   rebel  General  A.   S.  Johnston   from   Bowling 
Green,  where  he  had  concentrated  a  large  force,  ordered 
General  Thomas  to  move,  with  all  his  force,  except  three 


1  8° 
GENERAL   THOMAS. 


raiments,  to  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  and  pat  himself  m  a 
state   of  readiness   for   an    active  campaign.      General 
Thomas  obeyed  promptly,   and  at  Lebanon  orgamzed 
the  First  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  ; 
troops  had,  however,  but  just  arrived  there,  when  mtel- 
ligence  came  that  Zollicoffer  had  advanced  to  Monticello, 
and  was  threatening  Somerset.     He  immediately  sent 
General  Schoepf  a  battery  of  artillery  and  two  regiments 
of  infantry,  to  prevent  him  from  crossing  the  Cumber 
land  river,  and  two  days  afterwards  ordered  two  more 
regiments  and  another  battery  to  reinforce  him;   but 
Zollicoffer   had   meanwhile   succeeded   in   crossing    the 
river,  and  established  himself  on  the  north  side,  opposite 
Mill  Spring.     On  the  31st  of  December  he  took  the  field 
in  person,  with  six  regiments  of  infantry,  one  of  cavalry, 
a  battery  of  artillery,  and  four  companies  of  engineers,  to 
march  against  Zollicoffer,  and  dislodge  him  from  his  po 
sition,  if  he  did  not  come  out  to  meet  the  Union  forces. 

The  march  was  a  most  laborious  one,  occupying  nine 
teen  days,  the  roads  being  almost  impassable,  but  General 
Thomas  at  last  succeeded  in  reaching  Logan's  cross-roads, 
about  ten  miles  north  of  Mill  Spring,  though  two  of  the 
regiments  of  infantry  had  fallen  behind.     He  halted  at 
this  point  for  these  to  come  up,  on  the  18th  of  January, 
and  at  the  same  time  made  arrangements  to  communicate 
with  General  Schoepf,  at  Somerset,  and  undertake  a  com- 
bined  movement  upon  the  enemy's  intrenchments.    This 
movement  was  to  be  made  on  the  26th.     The  rebel  com 
mander  meantime  having  been  informed  that  only  two 
regiments  had  reached  Logan's  cross-roads  with  General 
Thomas,  resolved  to  surprise  and  overwhelm  him  before 
the  others  could  come  up.     He  accordingly  moved  on 
the  evening  of  the  18th,  reaching  Thomas's  camp  about 
daylight,  and  driving  in  the  pickets  in  some  confusion. 


184: 


OUK   GREAT   CAPTAINb. 


General  Thomas  was  not  long  in  forming  his  troops  and 
-  advancing  upon  the  enemy.     The  rebels  assaulted  with 
great  desperation,  but  without  effect ;  and  the  two  regi 
ments  which  were  behind  having  come  up,  a  simulta 
neous  assault  was  made  upon  the  rebel  front,  right,  and 
rear,  and,  after  a  sharp  struggle,  they  broke  and  fled, 
retreating  in  great  disorder  towards  their  intrenchments. 
They  were  pursued  promptly  to  the  river,  and  General 
Thomas  gave  orders  to  storm  their  intrenchments  early 
the  next  morning  ;  but  during  the  night  they  fled,  aban 
doning  their  fortifications,  artillery,  ammunition  wagons, 
cavalry,  horse,  and  camp  equipage,  provisions,  and  small- 
arms.      General  Zollicoffer   was   killed   in    the    battle. 
Many  of  the  wealthy  rebels  in  Middle  Tennessee  were  so 
terrified  by  this  defeat  that  they  removed,  with  their 
slaves  and  property,  to  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  regard 
ing  Tennessee  as  unsafe.     General  Thomas  now  concen 
trated  his  force  at  Somerset,  and  prepared  for  an  expedi 
tion  into  East  Tennessee,  the  possession  of  which  he  re 
garded  as  of  the  first  importance.     He  had  nearly  accu 
mulated  the  necessary  supplies  and  subsistence  for  the 
expedition,   when   General    Buell   again    recalled    him, 
ordering  him  to  move  with  all  dispatch  to  Lebanon,  and 
thence  to  Munfordsville,  where  he  was  then  concentrating 
his  forces  for  an  attack  on  Bowling  Green.     Before  the 
troops  could  be  assembled  there,  however,  the  rebels  had 
lost   Forts   Henry  and  Donelson,  and   had   abandoned 
Columbus,  Bowling  Green,  and  Nashville,  and  retreated 
further  south.     General  Thomas  was  met  on  his  way  to 
Munfordsville  by  orders  to  go   on  with  his  division  to 
Louisville,  and  there  take  steamers  for  Nashville.     He 
arrived  at  Nashville  on  the  2d  of  March  with  his  division, 
in  readiness  to  take  the  field.     General  Buell  constituted 
that  division  the  reserve  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 


GENEKAL   THOMAS. 


185 


and  it  did  not  reach  Pittsburg  Landing  till  after  the  rebels 
had  retreated  to  Corinth.  On  the  25th  of  April,  1862, 
Brigadier-General  Thomas  was  appointed  and  confirmed 
Major-General  of  Volunteers,  and  on  the  1st  of  May  his 
division  was  transferred,  by  General  Halleck,  to  the 
Array  of  the  Tennessee,  and  he  was  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  right  wing  of  that  army,  consisting  of  five 
divisions— viz.,  Brigadier-General  T.W.  Sherman's,  Briga 
dier-General  W.  T.  Sherman's  (subsequently  commander 
of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  and  of  the  Military  Divis 
ion  of  the  Mississippi),  Brigadier-General  S.  A.Hurlbut's, 
Brigadier-General  T.J.  McKean's,  and  Brigadier-General 
Thomas  A.  Davies'  divisions. 

On  the  evacuation  of  Corinth  by  the  rebels,  General 
Thomas's  command  was  stationed  along  the  Memphis 
and  Charleston  railroad  from  luka,  Mississippi,  to  Tus- 
cumbia,  Alabama,  for  its  protection.     On  the  10th  of 
June  he  was  retransferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  his 
old  associates,  and  ordered  to  concentrate  his  command 
at  Decherd,  Tennessee.     Leaving  his  command  tempo 
rarily  in  charge  of  General  Schoepf,  he  went  on  to  Mc- 
Minnville  to  take  charge  of  the  divisions  of  Generals 
Nelson  and  Hood,  then  at  that  place.      On  the  3d  of 
September,  General  Buell  sent  him  orders  to  join  him 
at  Murfreesboro.      On   arriving   there,  he  found  that 
General  Buell  had  moved  on  to  Nashville,  whither  he 
followed  promptly,    and  reached  that  city  on  the  8th 
of  September,  when  he  was  at  once  put  in  command 
of  the  post,  while  General  Buell  pushed  on  towards  Ken 
tucky.     On  the  evening  of  the  13th  General  Thomas  re 
ceived  orders  to  follow ;  and,  leaving  Negley's  and  Pal 
mer's  divisions  as  a  garrison  at  Nashville,  he  moved  on 
the  15th  and  overtook  General  Buell  on  the  19th  near 
Cave  City,  and  was  at  once  made  second  in  command  of 
16* 


186 


OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


the  whole  army.     In  that  rapid  race  to  Louisville  and 
back,  which  followed,   in  which  Bragg  always  managed 
to  be  a  little  ahead,  General  Thomas  took  his  full  share  of 
the  labor  and  responsibility.     He  reached  Louisville  on 
the   26th  of  September.     On  the  29th  the  army  was  di 
vided  into  three  army  corps,   under  Generals  McCook, 
Oittenden,  and  Gilbert,   and  General  Thomas  was  still 
second  in  command;  and  when  on  the  1st  of  October  the 
army  moved  from  Louisville  in  pursuit  of  Bragg,  now 
retreating   with   his   ill-gotten    prey    from    Kentucky, 
General   Thomas    took   command    of   the    right  wing. 
In    the    battle    of  Perryville    the  left  wing  was  princi 
pally  engaged, — the    right  wing,    from    the  position  of 
the  two  armies,  being  unable  to  come  into  action,  ex 
cept  in  the  way  of  skirmishing  on  the  part  of  its  cav 
alry.      When   General   Rosecrans   assumed     command, 
the  name  of  the  army  was  again  changed  to  the  "  Army 
of  the  Cumberland ;"  and  on  the  5th  of  November,  Gen 
eral  Thomas  was  placed  in  command  of  the   centre,  the 
14th  army  corps,  consisting  of  five  divisions, — the  1st, 
3d,  8th,   12th,  and  13th,  under  the  command  of  Gene 
rals  Fry,  Rousseau,  Negley,  Dumont,  and  Palmer.  With 
his  corps  he  reached  Nashville  early  in  November,  and 
on  the  26th  of  December  advanced  towards  Murfrees- 
boro.      During    the    series    of    battles    and    skirmishes 
which  preceded  the  battle  of  Stone  river  he  was  cool, 
active,   and  vigilant,    cheering   on   his    men  by  his  ex 
ample,  and    sharing   their    dangers.       In  the  battle  of 
Stone  river,  on  the  first  day,  it  was  his  corps  that  ar 
rested  the  progress  of  Bragg's  legions,  flushed  with  vic 
tory,  when,  having  routed  and  trampled  down  McCook's 
corps  and  forced  back  Negley's  division   of  Thomas's, 
they  were  held  firmly  at  bay  by  Palmer's  veterans,  while 
General  Thomas  was  aiding  the  commander  in  forming 


GENERAL   THOMAS. 


a   new  and  impregnable  line.    Firm  as   a   rock,    hey 
stemmed   the   torrent   of   advancing   rebels   at  a  tune 
when  every  moment  was  of  infinite  value  to  the  suc 
cess  of  the  day  and  the  retrieval  of  the  disaster.   Again 
and  again  were  Bragg*  -asses  hurled  upon  them  .but 
though  sadly  thinned,  their  lines  were  unbroken      It  was 
a  portion  of  Thomas's  corps  that  on  the  2d  of  Janna.y 
plished  so  effectually  the  rash  attempt  of  Breckinndge 
•to  advance  and  turn  the  Union  left,  and  in  forty  minutes 
strewed  the  line  of  their  advance  and  retreat  with  two 
thousand  dead  and  wounded  rebels;  and  when  on  that 
dark  Saturday  night,  January  3d,  1863   Bragg',  dispir 
ited  lemons  fled    from  Murfreesboro,  it  was   Ihoma^ 
corps  which  advanced  and  drove  them  the  next  morning 
towards  Manchester.  Well  did  General  Rosecrans  speak 
of  him  in  his  report  as  «•  true  and  prudent  ;  <^ingu,shed 
fa  counsel,  and  on  many  battle-fields  celebrated  by  his 


wo  armies  for  the  next  five  months  lay  twenty 
miles  apart  watching  each  other,  both  considerably  and 
about  equally  reinforced,  but  neither  strong  enough  for 
an  offensive  movement.     At  length,  late  in  June,  Gene,  a 
Rosecrans  having  brought  his  cavalry  up  towards  his 
standard  of  perfection,  and  accumulated  snppl.es  at  his 
secondary  base,  moved  forward,  and  by  a  series  of  bul- 
iant  straLgic  movements,™  which  General  Thomas  bore 
a  distinguished  and  honorable  part,  dislodged  the  rebels 
from  Shelbyville,    Manchester,  Tullahoma,  Winchester, 
andDecherd,  and  compelled  them,  by  mountain  passes 
and  devious  routes,  to  seek  refuge  and  safety  in  Chatta 
nooga.      Then  repairing  the  railroads,  and  constructing 
bridges  to  make  the  route  safe  and  easy  for  troops  and 
supples,  he  moved  forward  again  to  capture  Chattanooga 
by  a  flank  movement.    For  this  purpose,  General  Rose- 


188 


OUR   GEEAT  CAPTAINS. 


crans^  marched  his  army  in  three,  or,  including  his  cav 
alry,  in  four  columns,  moving  by  different  routes;— Mc- 
Cook  crossing  the  Tennessee  near  Stevenson,  and  passing 
down  the  west  side  of  Lookout  mountain  to  Valley  Head 
and  Alpine,  and  thence  ascending  towards  Chattanooga 
by  way  of  McLemore's  cove  ;  Thomas  crossing  at  Bridge 
port,  and  threatening  Chattanooga  along  the  railroad ; 
while  Crittenden,  crossing  at  and  above  Bridgeport,  and 
at  the  same  time  threatening  Chattanooga  from  the  op 
posite  bank  of  the  Tennessee  by  a  detachment  of  his 
corps,  caused  Bragg  to  evacuate  it  speedily,  and  then, 
leaving  a  small  garrison  there,  passed  over  east  towards 
Ringgold,  the  cavalry  meantime  making  an  extensive 
detour  westward,  and  crossing  the  river  near   Athens, 
Tennessee.       The  object  of  these  movements  had  been 
attained   in   part,   for   Bragg   had   been   compelled  to 
abandon  Chattanooga,  or  risk  the  loss  of  his  communi 
cations  ;    but  he   was  receiving   large    reinforcements, 
which   gave    him   greatly  the    preponderance  in  num 
bers  over  the  Union  army,  and   having  retreated  but 
a  short  distance  southward,  he  now  proposed,  by  rapid 
movements,  to  attack  Rosecrans'  scattered  corps  before 
they   could  form   a  junction,   and   thus  win    back   his 
stronghold. 

Rosecrans  was  fully  aware  of  his  critical  situation,  and 
understood  that  he  must  fight  a  desperate  battle  at  heavy 
odds,  for  the  possession  of  the  prize  he  had  captured. 
By  dint  of  extraordinary  exertion,  he  succeeded  in 
bringing  up  McCook's  corps  from  the  south,  and  Crit- 
,tenden's  from  the  east,  to  unite  with  Thomas,  who  was 
already  in  a  strong  position  in  McLemore's  cove ;  but 
McCook's  corps  were  sorely  jaded  by  their  long  and  dif 
ficult  march,  and  had  had  no  time  to  rest.  Meanwhile 
Bragg,  though  annoyed  at  the  failure  of  his  plan  for  de- 


GENERAL    THOMAS.  189 


feating  Rosecrans'  army  in  detail,  approached  it  with 
ereat  confidence,  having  a  force  outnumbering  his  as 
three  to  two.     On  the  first  day  of  the  battle,  victory  in 
clined  to  neither  side.    The  attack,  in  which  all  of  Bragg's 
army  did  not  participate,  was   made   upon  Thomas's 
corps  and  though  outnumbered,  they  stood  like  a  wall; 
and  though,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  the  other  corps 
were  brought  into  action,  yet  the  heaviest  blows  had 
been  given  and  received  by  Thomas's  veterans,    ft  * 
said  that  when  Longstreet's  corps,  fresh  from  Virginia, 
flung  themselves  upon  Thomas's  command,  they  would 
call  out,  "You  are  not  fighting  conscripts  now!"  and  as 
Thomas's  men  charged  back,  they  would  shout  in  turn, 
"You  are  not  fighting  with  Eastern  store-clerks!" 
the  second  day  (September  20th),  Thomas's  corps  was  still 
in  front,  supported  by  one  division  (Johnson's)  of  Mc- 
Cook's  corps,  and  one  (Palmer's)  of  Crittenden's,  while 
the    remainder    of    McCook's    corps    was    posted    on 
Thomas's    right,   and    the    remainder   of   Crittenden's 
placed  in  reserve,  near  the  point  of  junction  of  the  two, 
to  support  either,  as  circumstances  might  require, 
battle  commenced  early,  and  the  rebels  came  up  in  solid 
masses,  pressing  heavily  on  Thomas's  lines,  and  seeking 
for  some  weak  point  which  they  might  penetrate.    They 
sought  in  vain  for  hours:  every  attack  was  repulsed, 
with   heavy  loss.    The   fighting  had  been   continuous 
from  about  sunrise  till  one  o'clock,  when  the  misconcep 
tion  of  an  order  of  General  Rosecrans  afforded  to  the 
rebels  the  opportunity  they  had  so  long  sought  of  pen 
etrating  the  Union  lines,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  avail 
themselves  of  it.    They  advanced  rapidly  and  heavily, 
and  pouring  their  columns  in  at  the  gap,  cut  off  a  part 
of  Crittenden's  and  McCook's  corps  from  Thomas,  and 
forced  them  back  in  confusion.     Seven  brigades  were 


190  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

thus  lost  for  the  day,  by  an  army  already  far  inferior  in 
numbers  to  the    enemy,   and  Thomas's   command  was 
flanked.     General  Rosecrans  and  Generals  McCook  and 
Crittenden  were  with  the  portion  thus  cut  off,  and  were 
unable  again  to  reach  that  portion  of  the  battle-field  where 
Thomas  still  held  his  ground,  grim  and  defiant,  against 
the  hosts  which  sought  to  swallow  him  up.     Hitherto  he 
had  been  regarded  by  the   generals  commanding   the 
armies  in  which  he  had  fought,  as  a  brave,  trustworthy, 
prudent  officer,— one  who  would  be  found  in  his  place, 
doing  his   duty,  but  not  as  a  man   of  genius  or  high 
strategic  ability ;  but,  in  this  time  of  peril  he  developed 
qualities  and  improvised  combinations  which  would  have 
done  honor  to  any  general  of  modern  times.     We  have 
said  he  was  flanked  by  this  disastrous  break,  and  the 
rush  of  the  enemy  into  the  gap  ;  we  may  add,  that  Gen 
eral  Rosecrans,  as  well  as  Generals  McCook  and  Critten 
den,  believed   the    day  lost,  and   so   telegraphed   from 
Chattanooga.     But  Thomas  had  no  idea  of  losing  the 
day.     Wheeling  his  troops  within  the  jaws  of  Flick's 
gap,  where  the   mountain-walls,  precipitous   and   bold, 
prevented  another  flank  movement,  he  stood  like  a  lion 
at  bay,  and  with  the  remnant  of  that  army  fought  hour 
after  hour.     Thrice  he  was  compelled  to  change  his  po 
sition  and  shorten  his   lines,  falling  somewhat   further 
back  into  the  jaws  of  the  gap,  and  when  at  last  his  men, 
exhausted  by  two  days  of  hard  fighting,  without  relief, 
food,  or  rest,  were  compelled  to  stand  up  against  the 
whole  force  of  the  rebel  army,  now  more  than  two  to 
their  one,— a  force  hurled  upon  them  with  all  the  rage  of 
wolves  disappointed  of  their  prey,— Thomas  called  up 
Granger's  reserve,  held  back  till  then,   and  the  three 
fresh  brigades  under  the  immediate  command  of  Gen 
eral  Steedman  of  Ohio,  repulsed  them  three  times  in  the 


GENERAL    THOMAS. 


space  of  forty  minutes  with  most  frightful  slaughter,  and 
compelled  them  to  withdraw,  leaving  the  field  to  Thomas 
and  his  unconquered  heroes.     During  the  night  General 
Thomas  fell  back  three  miles,  and  took  up  a  stronger 
position  near  Rossville,  where  he  formed  his  troops  in 
line   of  battle,  and  remained  during  the  whole  of  the 
next  day  (Monday,  September  21st)  ;  but  no  enemy  ap 
pearing,  they  inarched  in  the  evening  to  Chattanooga, 
and   entered  it  in  order,  and  without  loss  of  material 
beyond  that  lost  on  the  20th.     General  Rosecrans  had, 
on  reaching  Chattanooga,  immediately  put  the  town  in  a 
state  of  defence,  had  placed  the  train  in  safety,  and  re 
organized   the    retreating   troops,  so   that   on  Monday 
morning  they  were  sent  to  support  General  Thomas  ;  and 
General!  McCook  and  Crittenden  had  returned  to  Ross 
ville,  and  rendered  assistance  in  placing  the  troops  in  the 
new   lines   of  defence   there.     But    without    detracting 
in  the  least  from  the  merits  of  General  Rosecrans,  and 
his  other  corps-commanders,  who  on  this  occasion  were 
rather   the    victims  of  unfavorable   circumstances  than 
personally  blameworthy,  the  fact  remains,  that  but  for 
the    undaunted    courage,    and    extraordinary   military 
ability  of  General  Thomas  on  that  day,  we  should  have 
lost  our  army,  lost  Chattanooga,  and  the  whole  hard- 
won   fruits  of  the  blood  and  toil  of  the  Army  of  the 
Cumberland  for  the  previous  year.     It  was  an  honorable 
and  deserved  encomium  which  General  Rosecrans  paid 
to  him  in  his  report,  when  he  said  :  «  To  Major-General 
Thomas,  the  true  soldier,  the  prudent  and   undaunted 
commander,  the  modest  and  incorruptible  patriot,  the 
thanks  and  the  gratitude  of  the  country  are  due  for  1 
conduct  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga." 

On  the  19th  of  October,  an  order  was  receivec 
the  War  Department,  relieving  General  Rosecrans  from 


192  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  ap 
pointing  General  Thomas  his  successor.  Meantime,  a 
part  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  then  under  the  command 
of  General  Burnside  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  had  arrived 
at  Chattanooga.  Two  corps  from  the  army  of  the  Poto 
mac,  under  command  of  General  Hooker,  and  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  under  General  W.  T.  Sher 
man,  were  ordered  to  Chattanooga ;  and  General  Grant 
was  assigned  to  the  command  of  all  these  armies,  as 
well  as  the  other  forces  on  the  Mississippi,  the  whole 
constituting  the  grand  Military  Division  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.  At  the  same  time,  with  these  changes  of  com 
manders,  General  Thomas  was  appointed  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  regular  army,  for  his  gallant  conduct  at 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  his  commission  dating  from 
October  27th,  1863. 

On  assuming  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
General  Thomas  found  that  army  in  a  critical  condition. 
The  enemy  had  captured  some  of  their  supply  trains,  and 
had  obtained  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  Nashville  and 
Chattanooga  railroad, — thus  necessitating  the  transporta 
tion  of  all  the  supplies  for  this  large  army,  and  the  re 
inforcements  which  it  was  receiving,  over  sixty  miles  of 
the  worst  road  in  the  United  States,  across  the  Cumber 
land  mountains  and  Walden's  ridge,  a  road  in  which 
from  six  to  eight  miles  a  day  was  the  greatest  distance 
which  the  trains  could  accomplish,  and  even  that  dis 
tance  at  a  terrible  sacrifice  of  draft  animals.  The  army 
was  placed  upon  half  rations,  and  the  cavalry  horses  (an 
arm  of  the  service  of  the  greatest  importance  in  that  re 
gion)  were  dying  by  scores  daily  for  want  of  forage. 
Added  to  this,  the  rebel  force,  strengthened  by  still 
further  reinforcements,  was  daily  growing  bolder,  and 
threatened  to  bombard  Chattanooga. 


GENERAL     THOMAS.  193 

In  this  emergency  General  Thomas  did  all  in  his  power 
to  improve  the  condition  of  his  command.     The  defences 
of  Chattanooga  were  strengthened,  excursions  made  by  the 
cavalry  in  search   of  forage;  pontoons  prepared,  guns 
mounted ;  and  all  that  could  be  accomplished  before  the 
other  armies  came  up,  was  done.     With  the  coming  of 
General  Grant,  and  the  arrival  of  the  two  corps  from  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac   and  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
affairs   assumed  a  more  encouraging  appearance.     By  a 
bold    and    skilful  stroke,   the  distance    which    supplies 
were  transported  by  wagon-train  was  reduced  from  sixty 
miles  to  ten ;  Hooker's  command  seized  and  held  the 
railroad   to  Wauhatchie ;  Sherman  was    busy  with  his 
boats  and   pontoons  near  the   mouth  of  North  Chicka- 
manga  creek ;  and  Grant  was  arranging  in  silence    and 
quiet  his  plans  for  driving  Bragg's  forces  from  the  front 
of  Chattanooga.     At  length  the  full  time  had  come; 
Bragg  had  sent  his  insolent  letter,  requiring  the  removal 
of  non-combatants  from  Chattanooga,  as  he  was  about  to 
shell  the  city.     Hooker's  command  had  by  a  dexterous 
movement,   supported  by  General  Thomas,  driven  the 
enemy  from  Lookout  mountain,  and  planted  the  Union 
flag  on  the  bold  brow  of  that  lofty  eminence ;  Sherman 
had  crossed  the  Tennessee  and  Chickamauga  creek,  cap 
tured  the  first   works  of  the  enemy  at  the  isolated  ex 
tremity  of  Mission  ridge,  and  sent  his  cavalry  eastward 
to  cut  the  railroad  lines ;   and  Thomas's  army,  hitherto 
spectators,  were  in  their  turn  to  be  called  upon  for  work. 
On  the  24th  of  November  they  sallied  forth  from  Chat 
tanooga,  and  by  a  bold  and  rapid  dash  possessed  them 
selves  of  the  strong  "works  of  the  enemy   on   Orchard 
knob,  fronting     Chattanooga,  and    commanding  a  part 
of  the  rebel  fortifications  on  Mission  ridge.      To  this 
point  General  Grant  advanced  the  same  day  with  the 

17 


194  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

whole  of  General  Thomas's  army,  and  a  part  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  Howard's  corps  from 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  On  the  25th,  after  Sherman 
had  made  his  persistent  attacks  on  Fort  Buckner,  and 
Hooker  had  moved  southward  to  take  Fort  Bivckinrirlo-e 

O 

in  the  rear,  General  Gordon  Granger's  Fourth  corps,  of 
Thomas's  army  (the  consolidated  Twentieth  and  Twenty- 
first  corps,  McCook's  and  Crittenden's),  was  ordered  to 
assault  Fort  Bragg,  and  in  obedience  to  the  order,  made 
that  wonderful  change  up  Mission  ridge  which  will  live 
in  history  as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  daring 
assaults  ever  attempted.  The  soldiers  of  the  corps  were 
bound  to  retrieve  their  reputation,  and  to  wipe  away  any 
disgrace  which  might  attach  to  them  for  their  retreat  at 
Chickamauga,  and  nobly  they  accomplished  their  purpose. 
After  the  defeat  and  flight  of  Bragg,  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland,  increased  to  60,000  men,  and  brought  up  to  the 
highest  state  of  efficiency  by  its  able  commander,  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  Chattanooga,  though  detachments  from 
it  occasionally  reconnoitred  the  enemy's  position,  and  on 
two  or  three  occasions  had  some  severe  fi^htino-.  When 

^  £3 

General  Grant  was  appointed  lieutenant-general,  and 
promoted  to  the  command  of  the  armies  of  the  United 
States,  General  Sherman  was,  at  his  request,  placed  in 
command  of  the  grand  Military  Division  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  General  Thomas  was  thus  subordinated  to  an 
officer  who  wTas  not  only  his  junior  in  years  and  military 
experience,  but  who  had,  in  1862,  been  a  division  com- 
inder  under  him.  Many  of  our  generals  would  have 
ejected  to  serve  under  such  circumstances,  and  would 
have  asked  to  be  relieved  from  their  commands;  but 
General  Thomas  was  too  pure  a  patriot  and  too  good  a 
tidier  to  take  offence  at  General  Sherman's  promotion 
-Tver  his  head.  He  knew  well  Sherman's  military  abili- 


GENERAL    THOMAS.  195 

ties,  had  confidence  in  his  plans  for  the  coming  cam- 
paign,  and  while  doing  his  duty  by  his  own  command, 
rendered  all  the  service  in  his  power  to  General  Sherman, 
and  obeyed  promptly  and  implicitly  his  orders. 

When,  on  the  7th  of  May,  1864,  the  grand  army  of 
General  Sherman  was  put  in  motion  for  Atlanta,  General 
Thomas's  army  constituted  the  centre  ;  and  at  some  peri 
ods  of  the  campaign,  when  the  position  required  the 
transference  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  to  the  right  or 
left,  it  acted  as  both  centre  and  right  or  left  wing.  The 
campaign,  though  one  of  extraordinary  hardship  and  en 
durance,  was  one  of  comparatively  few  battles,  the  princi 
pal  being  the  battle  of  Buzzard's  Roost  gap,  Resaca, 
Dallas,  Kenesaw  mountain,  the  three  battles  of  the  20th, 
22d,  and  28th  of  July,  near  Atlanta,  and  the  battle  near 
Jonesboro.  In  all  these  General  Thomas  took  an  active 

part  j at  Buzzard's  Roost,  making  the  demonstration  in 

front ;  at  Resaca,  pressing  upon  the  enemy's  lines  and 
ousting  him  from  his  position.  In  the  actions  about  Dal 
las,  he  attacked  and  drove  the  enemy  from  his  position 
at  New  Hope  church.  At  Kenesaw  mountain,  besides  re 
ceiving  and  repulsing  the  assault  of  the  enemy  at  the 
Kulp  house,  he  led  one  of  the  assaulting  columns  against 
the  impregnable  position  of  the  rebels  on  the  mountain. 
On  the  20th  of  July,  his  army  alone  sustained  the  shock 
of  Hood's  furious  attack,  and,  after  a  severe  battle,  drove 
the  enemy  back  to  his  intrenchments,  with  very  heavy 
loss.  The  action  of  the  22d  was  confined  mainly  to  the 
armies  of  the  Tennessee  and  Ohio,  but  General  Thomas 
had  his  army  ready  to  close  up  and  hold  all  that  had 
been  gained.  The  battle  of  the  28th  was  fought  by  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  Palmer's  corps  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland.  At  Jonesboro,  it  was  Davis's  Four 
teenth  corps  of  his  army  that  assaulted  and  drove  the 


OUK    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

enemy  southward,  capturing  almost  an  entire  brigade, 
while  Slocum's  (the  Twentieth)  occupied  Atlanta.  After 
the  capture  of  Atlanta,  when  Hood  had  succeeded  in 
rallying  his  beaten  and  shattered  forces,  and  moved 
northward  to  cut  General  Sherman's  lines  of  communica 
tion,  General  Thomas  was  dispatched  after  him  to  pre 
vent  him  from  accomplishing  any  considerable  mischief. 
When  General  Sherman  had  determined  upon  his  expe 
dition  towards  Savannah,  he  placed  all  the  troops  he 
could  spare  under  General  Thomas's  command,  with 
orders  to  entice  Hood  westward,  and  fight  him,  if  he 
would  fight,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nashville.  The 
policy  suggested  by  Sherman  was  admirably  carried  out 
by  Thomas.  Hood  and  Beauregard  followed  the  course 
of  the  Tennessee  river  as  far  as  Athens,  Tenn.,  while 
Breckinridge  was  sent  from  Central  Georgia  north 
towards  Knoxville ;  and  Hood  believed  he  could  form  a 
junction  of  the  two  forces  somewhere  near  Nashville.  As 
Hood  moved  north  from  Athens,  Thomas  fell  back 
slowly  but  steadily,  at  the  same  time  summoning  rein 
forcements  from  all  quarters  to  concentrate  at  Nashville. 
Hood  moved  forward,  reckless  as  usual,  and  confident  of 
an  easy  victory,  which  should  fulfil  Jefferson  Davis's  pre 
diction  that  within  sixty  days  Tennessee  should  again  be 
in  the  possession  of  the  Confederate  government. 

Meanwhile  two  divisions  of  infantry,  a  part  of  the  Six 
teenth  corps,  under  Major-General  A.  J.  Smith,  were  on 
their  way  from  Missouri  to  join  General  Thomas ;  and 
several  one-year  regiments,  and  detachments  from  places 
of  minor  importance,  were  arriving  at  Nashville  ;  and  on 
the  23d  of  November,  General  Gordon  Granger,  under 
previous  orders,  withdrew  the  garrisons  of  Athens,  De- 
catur,  and  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  sent  them  by  way 
of  Stevenson  towards  Nashville.  Five  of  these  regiments 


GENERAL   THOMAS. 


197 


were  ordered  to  Murfreesboro'  to  strengthen  the  garrison 
there  under  command  of  the  gallant  Rousseau.  Schofield, 
with  the  larger  part  of  General  Thomas's  available  forces, 
was  at  Pulaski,  Term.,  on  the   23d  of  November;  but 
finding  Hood  approaching,  he,  in  accordance  with  Gen- 
eral  Thomas's  orders,  evacuated  that  place  and  fell  back 
to  Columbia,  which  he  reached  on  the  24th.     On  that 
day  and  the  25th  the  enemy  skirmished  with  Schofield's 
troops,  but  only  with  dismounted  cavalry,  until  the  morn 
ing  of  the  26th,  when  his  infantry  came  up,  and  pressed 
Schofield's  lines  strongly  during  that  day  and  the  27th, 
though  without  assaulting ;  and  finding  that  they  were 
bent  upon  crossing  Duck  River,  which  flows  a  short  dis 
tance  in  rear  of  the  town,  the  Union  commander  with 
drew  on  the  night  of  the  27th  to  the  north  bank  of  Duck 
River,  and  took  up  a  new  position,  where  he  could  more 
effectually  prevent  them  from  crossing,  and  thus  flanking 
his  position.     During  the   28th  of  November  he  held 
this  position  undisturbed.     About  2  A.M.  on  the  morning 
of  the  29th,  the  enemy  succeeded  in  forcing  back  a  part 
of  the  Union  cavalry,  and  effecting  a  crossing  at  two 
points,  in  small  numbers.     As  this  was  likely  to  interfere 
with  his  line  of  retreat,  General  Schofield  immediately 
made  arrangements  to  fall  back  towards  Franklin,  dis 
posing  his  troops  in   such  a  way  as  to  cover  his   trains 
and  keep  the  roads  open.     The  march  was  rapid,  and 
there  was  heavy  fighting  over  the  whole  route.     General 
Schofield  himself  remained  with  his  artillery  till  nearly 
night  on  the  banks  of  Duck  River,  resisting  the  enemy's 
crossing,  and  kept  the  larger  portion  of  them   south  of 
the  river  till  dark.     He  then  pushed  forward,  past  the 
enemy,  attacking  them  wherever  they  were  in  the  way, 
and  driving  them;  and  having  made  a  night-march  of 
twenty-five   miles   with   his   entire   army,   he    reached 

17* 


198  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

Franklin,  and  got  into  position  at  an  early  hour  on  the 
morning  of  the  30th  of  November,  posting  his  men  in 
front  of  the  town,  and  having  the  Harpeth  River,  which 
here  sweeps  in  a  semicircle  in  rear  of  the  town,  covering 
both  flanks,  while  his  trains  were  being  sent  off  with  all 
due  expedition  to  Nashville.  General  Thomas  had  or 
dered,  this  very  day,  Steedman's  garrison  from  Chatta 
nooga  to  join  him  at  Nashville;  and  it  came  up  on  the 
1st  of  December,  losing  a  few  troops  by  the  attack  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry  upon  the  train. 

Had  Hood,  who  pushed  his  troops  to  the  utmost,  at 
tacked  Schofield  at  Franklin  as  soon  as  he  came  up,  and 
before  the  Union  general  had  had  time  to  form  his  troops, 
and  to  throw  up  those  defences  which  the  army  at  the 
West  had  learned  were  so  invaluable,  the  effect  might 
have  been  disastrous  ;  for  his  force  largely  outnumbered 
Schofield's,  and  they  were  not  hampered  by  the  necessity 
of  protecting  their  trains.  But  his  men  were  nearly 
spent  by  their  rapid  march,  and  he  delayed  the  attack 
till  afternoon.  By  this  time  Schofield's  position,  most 
admirably  chosen,  had  been  rendered  nearly  impreg 
nable.  Soon  after  noon  Hood  commenced  assaulting 
the  Union  lines,  and  hurled  his  troops  against  them 
again  and  again  with  much  the  same  result — a  most 
bloody  repulse  each  time.  Once,  and  only  once,  did  he 
succeed  in  making  an  impression  on  Schofield's  lines. 
Finding  Stanley's  corps  at  one  point  a  little  weaker  than 
the  rest,  he  massed  his  troops  against  it  in  overwhelming 
numbers,  forced  it  back  from  its  first  line,  and  a  few  of 
his  troops  had  clambered  up  the  barricades  of  the  second 
line,  when  Stanley,  calling  up  a  fresh  brigade,  and  spring 
ing  lion-like  into  the  fight,  drove  back  the  rebels  with 
terrible  slaughter,  and  though  himself  grievously  wound 
ed,  saved  the  day.  It  was  ten  o'clock  at  night  when 


GENERAL   THOMAS. 

Hood,  having  finally  become  satisfied  that  he  could  not 
carry  the  Union  intrenchments,  abandoned  the  mad  at 
tempt      His   losses   had   been  frightful ;   Cleburne,  the 
bravest  of  his   major-generals,   and  Brigadier-Generals 
Williams,  Adams,   Gist,   Strophel,  and  Granberry  had 
been  slain;  Major-General  Brown  and  Brigadiers  Carter, 
Monio-el,  Quarles,  Cockerill,  and  Scott  were  wounded; 
and  Brio-adier-General  Gordon  a  prisoner- thirteen  gen 
eral  officers   hors  du  combat!      Nor  were   the   losses 
amoncr  his  troops  less  extraordinary  :    1,750  were  buried 
upon  The  field,  3,800  were  so  severely  wounded  as  to  b 
sent  to  the  hospitals  in  Franklin,  and  702  were  prisoners ; 
making  an  aggregate  of  6,252.     The  Union  loss  was  1: 
killed,  1,033  wounded,  and  1,104  missing— an  aggregate 

of  2,326. 

No  sooner  was  the  battle  definitely  ended  than  G 
eneral  Schofield  gave  the  order  for  marching ;  and  the 
early  morning  of  the  1st  of  December  saw  the  wearied 
and  wayworn  heroes  entering  Nashville,  after  a  night- 
march  of  eighteen  miles. 

There  had  been  great  interests  involved  in  this  race  c 
the  two  armies  of  forty-three  miles,  from  Columbia  to 
Nashville.     If  Hood  could   have  overtaken  and  passed 
Schofield,  or  defeated  and  routed  him,  he  would  have 
accomplished  his  purpose  of  regaining  Tennessee  ;  for  he 
would   have   divided  Thomas's   army,  and   could   have 
overwhelmed  the  position  at  Nashville,  probably,  by  sheer 
weight  of  numbers,  and  not  only  Tennessee  but  Kentucky 
would  have  been  at  his  mercy.     But  General  Thomas 
was  as  skilful  in  his  selection  of  officers  as  General  Grant : 
he  knew  that  he  could  trust  implicitly  the  energy,  daring, 
rapidity  of  movement,  and  skilful  strategy  of  Schofield  ; 
that  though  it  might  require  almost  superhuman  exer- 
tions  to  accomplish  it,  Hood  would  not   be  suffered  to 


200 


OTJK    GKE^T    CAPTAINS. 


win  the  race;  and  hence,  through  that  trying  week  from 
Nov.  23  to  Dec.  1,  he  was,  though  straining  every 
nerve  to  bring  up  his  forces,  calm,  cool,  and  collected ; 
and  when  Hood,  on  the  2d  of  December,  appeared  be 
fore  the  fortifications  of  Nashville  with  his  advanced 
guard,  he  was  already,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  beaten. 
Schofield's  army,  though  sorely  jaded,  were  in  good  con 
dition,  requiring  only  rest  for  a  day  or  two  before  an 
other  struggle ;  A.  J.  Smith's  large  and  finely  disciplined 
divisions  had  come  in  by  transports  on  the  30th  of  No 
vember;  Steedman,  with  his  division  from  Chattanooga, 
had  arrived  on  the  1st  of  December.  The  citizens^of 
Nashville  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  the  railroad, 
quartermaster's,  and  commissary's  employes,  forming  to 
gether  a  force  of  nearly  ten  thousand,  had  been  trained 
and  disciplined  under  General  Donaldson ;  while  Wilson's 
cavalry,  which  for  want  of  horses  had  hitherto  been  in 
ferior  to  that  of  the  enemy,  was  now  rapidly  being 
mounted. 

General  Thomas's  forces  now  somewhat  outnumbered 
Hood's,  and  he  had  the  strong  works  in  front  of  Nash 
ville,  works  perfected  during  the  previous  few  weeks, 
and  the  gunboats,  which  protected  the  river,  and  which 
would  effectually  guard  his  flanks,  to  protect  his  troops 
against  assault.  Hood  had  sent  Forrest's  cavalry  to  try 
to  cross  the  Cumberland  at  various  points,  and  make  a 
raid  into  Kentucky;  but  the  gunboats  so  effectually 
guarded  the  river,  that  that  rough  rider  could  find  no 
place  of  passage.  Nashville  lies  in  a  bend  of  the  Cum 
berland,  much  as  Franklin  does  on  the  Harpeth  ;  and 
having  the  gunboats  to  guard  his  flanks,  General  Thomas 
had  only  need  to  stretch  his  works  across  the  bend,  and 
station  his  cavalry  on  the  north  side  to  guard  the  rail 
road  lines.  Hood  had  had  a  surfeit  of  prompt  assaults, 


GENERAL    THOMAS. 


201 


and  in  this  instance,  the  only  one  in  his  career  where  a 
sudden  assault  could  have  done  him  any  service,  he  hesi 
tated,  skirmished  a  little,  and  finally  sat  down  to  besiege 
the  city,  taking  position  on  a  line  of  hills  about  four  or 
five  miles  south  of  the  city.  This  sealed  his  fate.  Gen 
eral  Thomas  tempted  him  in  every  possible  way  to  at 
tack  him— bombarding  his  lines,  making  feints  of  attack, 
or  stirring  him  up  by  shells  on  his  flanks  from  the  gun 
boats.  It  was  all  in  vain.  Hood  was  evidently  of  the 
opinion  that  he  could  starve  Thomas  out  or  compel  him 
to  evacuate  the  city  by  merely  investing  his  works  on 
the  south  front. 

At  length,  finding  that  Hood  could  not  be  coaxed  or 
driven  into  an   attack,  General  Thomas  determined  to 
assume  the  offensive  himself.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  14th, 
there  being  indications  of  a  thaw,  he  issued  his  special 
field  orders  to  his  commanders,  detailing  his  plan  of  battle, 
and  assigning   to  each  his  part.     The  right  of  his  line 
rested  on  the  Cumberland,   covered  by  gunboats,  and 
consisted  of  the  Sixteenth  army  corps,   Major-General 
A  J.  Smith  commanding,  on   the  extreme  right.     The 
Fourth  army  corps  (Stanley's),  Brigadier-General  T.  J. 
Wood  temporarily  commanding,  formed  the  right  cen 
tre  ;  the  Twenty-third  army  corps,  Major-General  Scho- 
field  commanding,  the  left  centre;  while  a  provisional 
organization  of  white  and  colored  troops,  under  com 
mand  of  Major-General  Steedman,  occupied  the  extreme 
left;  which,  like  the  right,  was  covered  by  gunboats. 
General  Steedman  had  also  the  command  of  the  interior 
line,  extending  along  the  inner  fortifications,  and  which 
was  manned  by  the  garrison  of  Nashville  and  the  quar 
termaster's  troops. 

His  plan  of  action  was  to  demonstrate  boldly  on  i 
left  (Hood's  right),  where  the  enemy  was  strongest,  and 


202  OUK    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

thus  attract  still  more  of  Hood's  troops  to  that  wing, 
while  his  actual  attack  would  be  made  by  massing  his 
troops  on  Hood's  left,  which  was  his  weakest  point,  and 
thus,  with  the  aid  of  the  gunboats,  push  and  roll  back 
his  left  wing  upon  the  centre,  and  having  got  well  in 
upon  his  flank  and  rear,  crush  his  centre  also,  for  his 
first  day's  work.  For  the  second  day,  he  proposed  to 
hurl  his  forces  upon  his  right  till  that  should  be  over 
powered  and  give  way,  when  he  would  envelop  his  army, 
and  either  capture  it  entire,  or  so  bruise  and  crush  it 
that  Hood  should  be  glad  to  make  his  escape  from  Ten 
nessee  on  any  conditions. 

This  programme  was  carried  out  almost  without  varia 
tion.      In   accordance    with    General   Thomas's   orders, 
General  Steedman,  before  dawn,  deployed  on  the  left  a 
heavy  line  of  skirmishers,  consisting  principally  of  colored 
troops ;  and  soon  after  daylight  he  pushed  his  line  up  to 
and  across  the  Murfreesboro'  turnpike.     After  a  stout 
but  brief  resistance  the  enemy's  pickets  fell  back,  and 
Steedman  pursued  until  he  came  face  to  face  to  a  battery 
planted  on   the  further  side  of  a  deep  rocky  cut  of  the 
Chattanooga  Railroad,  which  was  too  long  for  his  line  to 
flank,  and  impossible  for  it  to  cross.     Here  they  met  with 
considerable  loss,  as  they  could  not  charge  the  battery ; 
but  their  attack  had  been  so  eager  and  vehement  that  it 
had  accomplished  its  purpose,  Hood  believing  that  the 
Union  army  was  there  in  force,  and  drawing  from  his 
already  enfeebled  left,  troops  to  strengthen  still  further 
his  right.     This  proved  a  costly  and  grievous  mistake 
for  him ;  for,  a  few  minutes  later,  A.  J.   Smith's  corps, 
followed  by  Wood's,  and  supported  and  covered  by  the 
cavalry,  swept  like  an  avalanche  upon  the  enemy's  left, 
rolling  it  up,  storming  its  batteries,  and  flanking  his  po 
sitions,  and  compelling  him  to  fall  back  upon  his  centre. 


GENERAL   THOMAS.  203 


Desiring  to  gain   still  further  on   Hood's  flank,  General 
Thomas  sent   Schofield,  who  had  thus  far  been  chafing 
in  reserve,  around  Smith's  right,  to  still  further  outflank 
the  enemy,  and  gain,  if  possible,  the  rear  of  the  new  and 
strong  position  to  which  he  had  fallen  back.     The  fight- 
ino-  for  this  purpose  was  stubborn,  and   it  was  not  till 
near  nightfall,  when  the  Fourth   corps,   under  General 
Wood  charged  and  carried  Hood's  most  advanced  posi 
tion,  that  the  task  of  the  day  seemed  likely  to  be  accom 
plished.     Sixteen  pieces  of  artillery  and  about  1,200  pris 
oners,  besides  large  quantities  of  small-arms  and  about 
40  wagons,  were  the  fruits  of  this  day's  fighting.     As 
General  Thomas  left  the  position  he  had  occupied  during 
most  of  the  day,  he  said  to  an  officer  of  his  staff,  "  So 
far,  I  think,  we   have   succeeded   pretty  well.     Unless 
Hood    decamps    to-night,    to-morrow    Steedman    will 
double    up  his   right,  Wood  will   hold   his  centre,  and 
Smith  and  Schofield  again  strike  his  left,  while  the  cav 
alry  work  away  at  his  rear." 

Hood,  finding  his  fortifications,  on  which  he  had  be 
stowed  so  much  labor,  no  longer  tenable,  abandoned 
them  during  the  night ;  and  shortening  his  lines,  planted 
himself  squarely  across  the  Granny  White  and  Franklin 
turnpikes,  to  cover  his  trains,  which  he  had  already  com 
menced  hurrying  to  the  rear.     His  new  position,  which, 
with  a  view  to  the  emergency,  he  had  selected   and  for 
tified  several   days  before,  was  a  very  strong  one,   his 
front  line  being  scarcely  three  miles  in  length,  occupying 
the  wooded   crests  of  closely  connecting  hills ;  and  the 
two  keys  to  his  position,  the  Granny  White  and  Franklin 
pikes,  were  strongly  fortified.      Here,  then,  he  stood, 
ready  to  deliver  the  final  battle,  which  was  to  decide 
whether  he  should  retain   his  foothold  in  Tennessee,  or 
whether,  with  his  troops  routed   and  demoralized,   he 


204 


CUE    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


must  make  a  rapid  flight  towards  the  Tennessee  River 
in  mid-winter,  with  Thomas's  victorious  legions  at  his 
heels,  taking  prisoners  and  supplies  at  every  swoop,  and 
utterly  niiniog  the  proud  army  which  had  advanced  so 
boldly  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Union  territory. 

At  dawn  the  Union  troops  were  in  motion  ;  over,  into, 
and  through  Hood's  abandoned  lines,  and  on  towards 
his  new  position,  till  his  heavy  curtain  of  skirmishers  and 
the  booming  of  his  artillery  checked  for  a  few  moments 
the  ardor  of  their  advance.     Thomas  had  sent  a  heavy 
force  of  his  cavalry,  by  a  considerable  detour,  to  strike 
Hood's  rear,  and  commenced  again  demonstrating  on 
the  enemy's  right  with   Steedman's  and  Wood's  corps, 
shelling  the  batteries  on  the  Overton  Hills  and  the  rebel 
lines  on  Overton  Knob,  simply  with  the  intent  of  holding 
Hood   in    position   there.      Smith    and   Schofield,  with 
Croxtin's  and  Hatch's  cavalry  brigades,  were  held  back, 
skirmishing  and  feeling  the  enemy's  position  at  all  points 
on  the  right,  but   not  allowed  to  go  into  action,  though 
their  troops  were  like  hounds  straining  at  the  leash.    &It 
was  near  four  o'clock  P.M.,  and  as  yet  nothing  had  been 
done.     At  length  Thomas  heard  the  welcome  sound  of 
the  prolonged  fire  of  rifles,  and  the  rapid  reverberation 
of  the  Spencer  carbine,  sweeping  round  the  rebel  flank 
and  creeping  up  along  Hood's  rear,  telling  that  Wilson's 
cavalry  were  at  their  work,  and  instantly  gave  the  order 
to  Smith  and  Schofield  to  advance  ;  but  they  had  heard 
and  interpreted  it  as  soon  as  he,  and  before  his  order 
could  reach  them  both  had  given  the  word  for  an  assault ; 
and  with  bayonets  levelled  and   cheers  that  made  the 
rebels  shake  in  their  shoes,  both  corps  swept  forward,  up 
to,  over  and  around  the  rebel  works ;  while  Wood  and 
Steedman,  catching  up  the  inspiration,  rushed  gallantly 
at  the  works  in  their  front ;  and  after  a  short  but  in- 


GENERAL   THOMAS. 


205 


tensely  fierce  engagement  the  entire  line  carried  all  be 
fore  it  The  rebel  resistance,  while  it  lasted,  was  as  des 
perate  as  in  any  battle  of  the  war  ;  but  in  thirty  minutes 
it  was  all  over— the  day  was  lost,  and  they,  panic- 
stricken,  were  hurrying  pell-mell  down  the  Granny 
White  and  Franklin  turnpikes,  throwing  every  thing 
aside  in  their  mad  haste  to  get  away.  Muskets,  blankets, 
knapsacks,  every  thing  was  abandoned,  if  they  might 
but  escape  from  the  grasp  of  the  Yankee  troops,  which 
seemed  to  surround  them  everywhere. 

The  pursuit  was  continued  relentlessly  for  a  fortnight, 
and  though  Hood  succeeded  in  forming  a  strong  rear 
guard  of  about  4000  infantry  and  all  his  available  cavalry 
under  command  of  General  Forrest,  this  was  the^  only 
organized  portion  of  his  troops,  the  remainder  being  a 
mere  demoralized  mob,  who,  shoeless,  hungry,  and 
hard-bestead,  pushed  on  in  despair  through  the  deep 
mud  towards  the  further  banks  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  killed  and  wounded  numbered  not  less  than  10,000 
during  the  two  days  ;  and  13,189  prisoners,  besides  2,207 
rebel  deserters,  were  captured  there  or  picked  up  in  the 
pursuit.  Eighty  cannon,  with  gun-carriages  and  cais 
sons,  3,079  small-arms,  and  numerous  battle-flags,  were 
among  the  trophies  of  this  great  victory.  The  Union 
loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  was  less  than 

10,000. 

On  the  8th  of  December,  Forrest,  who  had  been  de 
monstrating  against  the  Union  force  at  Murfreesboro' 
for  several  days,  was  attacked  by  General  Milroy  at 
General  Rousseau's  order,  and  defeated  and  routed; 
while  Breckinridge,  who  had  led  about  6,000  troops  into 
East  Tennessee,  was  completely  routed  and  driven  from 
the  region  by  General  Stoneman. 

Hood  having  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  Alabama 
18 


206 


OUR   GRKAT   CAPTAINS. 


with  his  shattered  remnant  of  an  array,  General  Thomas 
was  about  to  send  his  troops  into  winter-quarters ;   but 
General  Grant  disapproving,   he  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  in  filling  up  his  ranks,  and  organizing  the  finest 
cavalry  force  ever  called  into  the  field  on  this  continent. 
Schofield  was  presently  sent  to  Wilmington,  and  after 
the  capture  of  that  important  point  joined  Sherman  at 
Goldsboro'.      Wilson,    with    a  cavalry   force    of  about 
15,000,  swept  through  Selma,  Montgomery,  West  Point, 
Columbus,  and  Macon  ;  and  a  detachment  of  his  cavalry 
hunted  most  perseveringly,  and  finally  captured,  Jefferson 
Davis,  the  rebel  chief.     Gordon  Granger,  who  had  been 
with  his  Thirteenth  corps  at  Stevenson  and  its  vicinity 
during  the  Nashville  battle,  was  sent  to  Mobile,  to  aid 
in  its   reduction;    and  A.  J.  Smith's  corps   followed  it; 
and  the  two,  with  the  aid  of  a  division  of  colored  troops, 
under  General  Steele,   and    the  naval  squadron   under 
command  of  Admiral  Thatcher,  succeeded  in  the  capture 
of  that  rebel  stronghold.     Stoneman,  with  a  fine  cavalry 
force,  moving  eastward  from  Knoxville  on  the  14th  of 
March,  captured  the  rebel  ports  in    Southwestern  Vir 
ginia,  threatened  Lynchburg,  and  on  the  12th  of  April 
entered    Salisbury,    N.  C.;    and   seizing   there   an    im 
mense    quantity    of   rebel    stores    and    supplies,    effec 
tually  blocked  all  further  progress  on  the  part  of  John 
ston. 

The  gallantry  of  General  Thomas  at  Nashville,  and 
the  efficiency  of  his  pursuit,  won  for  him  the  rank  of 
major-general  in  the  regular  army,  in  January,  1865. 
On  the  reduction  and  reorganization  of  the  army  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  he  was  appointed,  by  general  order  of 
June^  27,  1865,  commander  of  the  military  division  of 
the  Tennessee,  embracing  the  four  departments  of  Ten 
nessee,  Kentucky,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  commanded 


GENERAL   THOMAS.  207 

severally  by  Generals  Stoneman,  Palmer,  Steedman,  and 

C.  R.  Wood. 

General  Thomas,  being  from  a  State  in  rebellion,  has 
had  no  political  influence  at  his  back  to  advocate  his 
claims  to  advancement  or  to  extol  his  victories  m  Con 
gress  and  he  is  of  too  modest  and  retiring  a  disposition 
ever  to  push  them  himself.  Hence  he  has  not  received 
in  the  past  the  honor  to  which  his  great  merit  entitled 
him  •  but  he  has  been  content  to  work  his  way  upward, 
and  let  his  countrymen  judge  of  what  he  had  been  able 
to  do  for  his  country;  and  in  the  end,  modest  merit  h 

triumphed. 

In  person,  General  Thomas  is  tall,  standing  about  six 
feet  two  in  his  stockings,  and  finely  proportioned, 
complexion  is  fair,  though  now  Bronzed  by  exposure,  his 
hair  brown,  his  beard  sandy,  his  eye  blue  and  keen,  his 
countenance  so  frank,  open,  and  winning,  that  it  attract 
at  once.    He  is  thought  personally  to  resemble  Washing 
ton   with  whom  he  has   also  many  traits  of  character  m 
common.     He  is  greatly  beloved  by  his  soldiers  who 
speak  of  him  as  "Pap"  Thomas,  and  feel  the  sort  of  con 
fidence  in  his  knowledge,  his  military  skill,  and  his  good 
ness  which  a  young  child  feels  for  its  father.    It  would 
be  very  hard  to  persuade  those  who  have  served  under 
him  from  Mill  Spring  onward,  that  any  other  general 
in  the  army  was  quite  equal  to  "Pap"  Thomas. 

If  a  blameless  life,  pure  and  noble  aspirations,  remark 
able  modesty,  an  amiable  and  even  temper,  great  pa 
tience  and  perseverance,  and  untiring  energy  and  per 
sistency,  with  a  calm,  clear  head,  close  observation,  and 
a  thorough  mastery  of  his  profession,  are  the  qualities  to 
make  a  good  general,  then  George  H.Thomas  is  entitled 
to  rank  among  the  great  and  good  generals  of  our  time. 


•! 


IV. 
Major-General  Philip  Henry  Sheridan, 

GENERAL  SHERIDAN  is  by  nearly  ten  years  the  youngest 
officer  among  our  "  Great  Captains,"  having  been  born 
in  1831.  The  exact  place  of  his  birth  is  involved  in  some 
uncertainty,  the  army  registers  crediting  Massachusetts 
with  being  the  birth  State  of  the  hero ;  while  his  friends 
generally  concur  in  stating  that  he  was  bom  in  Perry 
county,  Ohio.  His  parents  certainly  resided  in  that 
county  when  he  was  but  little  beyond  infancy. 

The  influence  of  his  friends  was  sufficient  to  secure 
young  Sheridan  an  appointment  as  cadet  at  West  Point, 
from  the  congressional  district  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  in  1848,  having  passed  with  honor  the  preliminary 
examination,  he  was  admitted  into  the  Military  Acad 
emy  ;  and  though  at  first  he  was  not  remarkable  for 
proficiency,  and  remained  a  second  year  in  the  fourth 
class,  he  improved  rapidly  in  scholarship  as  he  went  on, 
and  exhibited    superior  excellence  in  the  more  active 
duties  of  the  course.     He  graduated  in  1853  with  honor, 
having  as  classmates  the  lamented  McPherson,  Major- 
General  Schofield,  Generals  Terrill,  Sill,  and  Tyler,  and 
the  rebel  General  Hood.     On  his  graduation,  he  entered 
the  army  as  brevet  second-lieutenant  of  infantry,  and  was 
attached  to  the  first  regiment  U.  S.  A.     He  was  at  once 
ordered  to  join  his  regiment,  then  serving  in  Texas,  and 
early  in  the  autumn  took  his  position  in  his  company  at 
Foit  Duncan.     Here  he  was  employed  constantly  in  ser- 

18* 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS, 

vice  against  the  Apaches  and  Camanches,  the  robber 
Indian   tribes  of  the    Southwest.     On   one  occasion,  he 
and  two  of  the  soldiers  belonging  to  the  fort  were  at 
tacked  a  short  distance  from  it  by  a  band  of  Apaches, 
when  Sheridan,  springing  instantly  upon  the  bare  back 
of  the  fiery  Mustang  from  which  the  Indian  chief  had 
just  dismounted,  galloped  to  the  fort,  called  the  soldiers 
to  arras,  and  seizing  his  pistols  without  dismounting,  rode 
back  to  the  rescue  of  the  two  men  he  had  left  behind, 
and  who,  armed  with  rifles,  were  still  fighting.     Riding 
up  to  the  Apache  chief,  he  instantly  shot  him  dead  ;  and 
then,  his  comrades  having  come  up,  rode  down  and  killed 
most  of  the  other  savages.     For  this  brilliant  affair  he 
was  entitled  to  distinction,  but  the  commanding  officer 
(since  a  rebel  general)  was  prejudiced  against  him  for 
his  Northern  birth,  and  declared  him  guilty  of  a  breach 
of  discipline  in  being  away  from  his  command. 

This  petty  persecution   was  followed  by   others,   till 
Lieutenant  Sheridan  felt   himself  compelled   to  seek  a 
transfer  to  some  other  department.     This  was  accom 
plished  in  the  spring  of  1855,  by  his  assignment  to  a  full 
second-lieutenancy  in  the  Fourth  infantry  regiment,  then 
serving  in  Oregon.     He  returned  to  New  York,  in  order 
to  sail  thence  to  the  Pacific  coast;  and  while  waiting  for 
the  recruits  who  were  to  go  out  with   him,  was  for  two 
months  in  command  of  Fort  Wood,  in  New  York  harbor. 
In  July,  1855,  he  sailed  for  San   Francisco;  and  on  ar 
riving  there,  was  at  once  selected  to  command  the  es 
cort  which  accompanied  the  expedition  for  surveying  the 
route  for  the  proposed  branch  of  the  Pacific  railroad  to 
connect  San  Francisco  with  the  Columbia  river.     This 
accomplished,  he  was  sent  on  expeditions  into  the  Yakima 
Indian  country,  to  put  down  the  threatened  warlike  de 
monstrations  of  that  tribe,     He  succeeded  in  gaining  the 


GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 

esteem  and  confidence  of  the  Indians,  and  exerted  his 
influence  successfully  in  keeping  them  on  fnendly  terms 
with  the  whites.     He  was  subsequently  selected  to  adjust 
difficulties  with  other  tribes  of  Indians,  and  accomphshed 
his  mission  so  admirably  as  to  receive  high  commendation 
from  the  lieutenant-general.     He  continued  in  these  im 
portant  duties,  building  posts  among  the  Indian  tribes, 
and  greatly  beloved  by  them,  till  1861 ;  when,  on  the  res 
ignation  of  several  Southern  officers  in  order  to  join  the 
Southern  rebellion,  Lieutenant  Sheridan  was  advanced  to 
the  rank  of  first-lieutenant,  and  ordered  to  return  to  the 
East      On  the  increase  of  the  regular  infantry  ot  the 
United  States  army,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  o 
captain  in  the  regular  army,  with  a  commission  dating 
from  May  14,  1861,  and  assigned  to  the  Thirteenth  regi 
ment  of  infantry.  , 

In  September,  1861,  Captain  Sheridan  was  ordered  to 
loin  his  regiment  at  Jefferson  barracks,  near  St.  Louis, 
Mo    and  appointed  to  audit  the  claims  arising  from  the 
operations  of  the  army  during  the  campaign  in  Missouri; 
and  this  accomplished,  he  was  appointed  chief  quarter 
master  and  commissary  of  the  army  then  organizing  for 
operations   in   Southwestern  Missouri.     This   proved    a 
laborious  duty,  but  with  his  indomitable  energy  lie  suc 
ceeded  in  accomplishing  it;  and  in  March,  1862,  he  was 
appointed  chief  quartermaster  of  the  Western  Department, 
General  Halleck's  entire  command  of  sixteen  divisions, 
with  the  rank  of  major.     His  service  in  this  position  was 
short,  for  the  necessity  for  good   cavalry  commanders 
was  such,  that  his  superior  officers  were   compelled  to 
consent  to  his  service  in  the  field  in  that  capacity  ;  and 
on  the  27th  of  May  he  was  commissioned  colonel  ol  the 
2d  regiment  of  Michigan  Volunteer  Cavalry,  and  imme 
diately  ordered  to  the  duty  of  joining  in  the  expedition 


212 


OUE   GREAT  CAPTAINS. 


to  cut  the  railroads  south  of  Corinth,  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  the  rebels  southward  on  the  evacuation  of 
Corinth.  The  expedition  proved  successful,  though  ex 
posed  to  some  perils,  from  which  they  were  relieved  by 
the  adroit  management  of  Colonel  Sheridan.  Immedi 
ately  on  their  return  they  were  sent  out  again  to  pursue 
the  rebels,  who,  at  this  time,  were  retreating  from 
Corinth,  and  in  the  pursuit  Colonel  Sheridan's  regiment 
encountered  the  rebel  left  wing,  and  resisted  and  repelled 
the  attack  of  two  regiments  of  infantry,  two  of  cavalry, 
and  a  battery  of  artillery,  capturing  and  bringing  off  the 
guns  of  Powell's  rebel  battery. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  Colonel  Sheridan  led  a  cavalry 
reconnoissance  below  Boonesville ;  and  at  Donaldson's 
cross-roads  met  and  signally  defeated  a  force  of  rebel 
cavalry,  under  the  notorious  Forrest.  On  the  8th  of 
June,  in  command  of  two  cavalry  regiments  (his  own 
and  the  2d  Iowa),  he  started  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
drove  them  through  the  town  of  Baldwin,  which  he  cap 
tured,  and  to  Guntown,  where  he  engaged  a  force  much 
larger  than  his  own,  but  with  success,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  engagement  received  orders  to  fall  back  to 
Boonesville,  from  whence  he  accompanied  the  main  army 
back  to  Corinth. 

On  the  llth  of  June,  1862,  he  was  put  in  command  of 
a  cavalry  brigade,  and  on  the  26th,  ordered  to  take  up 
a  position  at  Boonesville,  twenty  miles  in  advance  of  the 
main  army,  and  cover  the  front  of  the  army,  at  the  same 
time  watching  the  operations  of  the  rebels  whom  he  con 
fronted. 
[ 

While  at  this  place,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1862,  he  was 
attacked  by  a  rebel  force  of  nine  regiments,  comprising 
nearly  6,000  men,  under  command  of  General  Chal 
mers.  After  skirmishing  for  some  time  he  fell  back 


GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 


213 


towards  his  camp,  which  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  a 
swamp,  an  advantageous  position,  where  he  could  not 
readily  be  flanked,  and  could  hold  the  enemy  at  bay  for 
some  time.     Finding  that  the  enemy,  with  their  greatly 
superior  numbers,  were  likely  to  surround  him,  he  had 
recourse  to  strategy.     Selecting  ninety  of  his  best  men, 
armed  with  revolving  carbines  and  sabres,  he  sent  them 
around  to  the  rear  of  the  enemy  by  a  detour  of  about 
four  miles,  with  orders  to  attack  promptly  and  vigor 
ously  at  a  certain  time,  while  he  would  make  a  simulta 
neous  charge  in  front.     The  plan  proved  a  complete  suc 
cess.     The  ninety  men  appeared  suddenly  in  the  enemy's 
rear,  not  having  been  seen  till  they  were  near  enough  to 
fire  their  carbines,  and,  having  emptied  these,  they  rushed 
with  drawn  sabres  upon  the  enemy,  who,  supposing  them 
to  be  the  advance  guard  of  a  large  force,  were  thrown 
into  disorder ;   and,  before  they  had  time  to   recover, 
Sheridan  charged  them  in  front  with  such  fury  that  they 
fled  from  the  field  in   complete  disorder,  utterly  routed. 
Sheridan   pursued,  and  they  continued  their  flight,  ut 
terly   panic-stricken,    to   Knight's   mills,    twenty  miles 
south   from   Boonesville,  throwing    away   their    arms, 
knapsacks,  coats,  and  every  thing  which  could  impede 
their  flight. 

General  Grant  reported  this  brilliant  affair  to  the  War 
Department,  with  a  recommendation  that  Colonel  Sheri 
dan  should  be  promoted.  This  recommendation  was 
granted,  and  his  commission  of  brigadier-general  bore 
date  July  1,  1862. 

At  this  time  the  rebels  in  his  front  had  but  one  stream 
(Twenty  Mile  creek)  from  which  to  water  their  live 
stock,  and  from  his  post  at  Boonesville  General  Sheridan 
frequently  made  sudden  dashes  in  that  direction,  and 
captured  large  quantities  of  their  stock,  often  two  or 


214 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


three  hundred  at  a  time.     In  August,  1862,  he  was  at 
tacked  by  a  rebel  cavalry  force  under  Colonel  Faulkner, 
near  Rienzi,  Mississippi,  but  after  a  sharp  engagement 
the  rebels  were  defeated  and  retreated  in  haste,  Sheridan 
pursuing  them  to  near  Ripley,  and,  charging  upon  them 
before  they  could  reach  their  main  column,  dispersed  the 
whole  force,  and  captured  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 
Early  in  September,  1862,  General  Grant  having  ascer 
tained  that  the  rebel  General  Bragg  was  moving  towards 
Kentucky,  detached  a  portion  of  his  own  forces  to  rein 
force  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  then  under  command  of 
General  Buell.     Among  these  were  General  Sheridan, 
and  his  old  command,   the  Second  Michigan  Cavalry. 
As  General   Grant  expected,  General  Buell  gave  Sheri 
dan  a  larger  command,  assigning  him  to  the  charge  of 
the  third  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio.    He  assumed 
command  of  this  division  on  the  20th  of  September,  1862. 
At  this  time  General  Bragg  was  approaching  Louisville, 
which  was  not  in  a  good  condition  for  defence,  and  Gen 
eral  Sheridan  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  defending 
it.     In  a  single  night,  with  the  division  under  his  com 
mand,  he  constructed  a  strong  line  of  rifle-pits  from  the 
railroad  depot  to  the  vicinity  of  Portland,  and  thus  se 
cured  the   city  against  the  danger  of  surprise.     On  the 
25th  of  September,  General  Buell  arrived  at  Louisville, 
and  soon  commenced  a  reorganization  of  the  Army  of 
the  Ohio,  now  largely  reinforced.     In  this  reorganiza 
tion,  General   Sheridan  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
eleventh   division,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the 
1st  of  October. 

Buell  soon  took  the  offensive  again,  and  began  pushing 
the  rebels,  who  had  already  commenced  a  retreat,  but 
were  embarrassed  by  the  amount  of  plunder  they  had 
collected.  On  the  8th  of  October,  the  rebels  made  a 


GENERAL   BHKKIDAN.  215 

stand  near  Perryville,  Ky,  for  the  double  purpose  of 
checking  the  pursuit  and  allowing  their  trains  to  move 
forward  out  of  harm's  way.     The  battle  which  followed, 
though  a  severe  one,  was  not  decisive,  owing  to  some 
defects  in  the  handling  of  the  forces,  and  Bragg  was 
allowed  to  make  good  his  retreat  with  most  of  his  plun 
der   and  with   but   moderate  loss:   but  in  it  Sheridan 
played  a  distinguished  part,  holding  the  key  of  the  Union 
position,  and  resisting  the  onsets  of  the  enemy  again  and 
again,  with  great  bravery  and  skill,  driving  them  at  last 
from   the  open  ground  in  front  by  a  bayonet  charge. 
This  accomplished,  he  saw  that  they  were  gaining  advan- 
tao-e  on  the  left  of  the  Union  line,  and  moving  forward 
his  artillery,  directed  so  terrible  a  fire  upon  the  rebel  ad 
vance   that  he   drove  them  from  the  open  ground  on 
which  they  had  taken  position.     Enraged  at  being  thus 
foiled,  they  charged  with  great  fury  upon  his  lines,  de 
termined  to  carry  the  point  at  all  hazards ;  but,  with  the 
utmost  coolness,  he  opened  upon  them  at  short  range 
with  such  a  murderous  lire  of  grape  and  canister,  that 
they  fell  back  in  great  disorder,  leaving  their  dead  and 
wounded  in  winrows  in  front  of  the  batteries.     The  loss 
in  Sheridan's  division  in  killed  and  wounded  was  over 
four  hundred,  but  his  generalship  had  saved  the  Union 
army  from  defeat.     On  the  30th  of  October,  General 
Bosecrans  succeeded  General  Buell  as  commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  which,  with  enlarged  territory,  was 
thenceforward  to  be  known  as  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land,  and  in  the  reorganization  General  Sheridan  was  as 
signed   to   the    command   of    one    of    the    divisions   of 
McCook's  corps,  which  constituted  the  right  wing  of  that 
army.     He  remained  for  the  next  seven  or  eight  weeks 
in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  and  then  moved  with  his 
corps,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1862,  to  wards  Murfrees- 


216  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

boro.  During  the  26th,  his  division  met  the  enemy  on 
the  Nolensville  road,  and  skirmished  with  them  to  No- 
lensville  and  Knob  gap,  occupying  at  night  the  latter 
important  position.  The  next  morning  a  dense  fog  ob 
scured  the  horizon ;  but  as  soon  as  it  lifted,  Sheridan 
pressed  forward  and  drove  the  enemy  from  the  village 
of  Triune,  which  he  occupied. 

The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  skirmishing,  and  in 
gradually  drawing  nearer,  over  the  almost  impassable 
roads,  to  Murfreesboro,  the  goal  of  their  hopes.  At 
length,  on  the  night  of  the  30th  of  December,  the  army 
was  drawn  up  in  battle  array  on  the  banks  of  Stone  riv 
er  ;  and  to  the  right  wing  was  assigned  the  duty  of  re 
pelling  the  first  onset  of  the  enemy,  and  holding  it  at 
bay,  while  the  left  wing  should  swing  round  upon  Mur 
freesboro.  Sheridan's  position  was  on  the  extreme  left 
of  the  right  wing,  joining  the  centre.  To  his  right  were 
Davis's  and  Johnson's  divisions  ;  on  his  left,  Negley,  in 
command  of  one  of  Thomas's  divisions.  The  record  of 
that  fearful  battle,  the  next  day,  belongs,  properly,  to 
history.  The  enemy,  at  dawn,  falling  en  masse  upon  the 
extreme  end  (Johnson's  division)  of  the  right  wing,  rolled 
it  up,  and  drove  back  in  utter  discomfiture  brigade  after 
brigade,  till  Johnson's  and  Davis's  divisions  were  crum 
bled  in  pieces,  and  the  victorious  rebel  column  swept 
down  in  irresistible  force  upon  Sheridan's  command, 
hoping  to  roll  that  back  also,  but  were  met  with  a  reso 
lution  and  determination  which ,  checked  for  the  time 
their  further  progress.  His  support  on  the  right  (Davis's 
division)  being  gone,  Sheridan  wheeled  in  the  face  of 
the  foe,  and  changed  front,  so  as  to  avoid  being  flanked 
on  the  right.  On  came  the  enemy,  only  to  be  beaten 
back ;  but  relying  on  their  great  superiority  of  numbers, 
they  returned  to  the  charge  four  times ;  and  at  length 


GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 


217 


the  rebels,  having  crushed  Negley's  division  on  his  left, 
and  in  spite  of  another  change  of  front  threatening  to 
outflank  and  surround  him,  and  slain  two  of  his  brigade 
commanders,  and  nearly  every  colonel  in  the  division,  he 
found  himself  compelled  to  fall  back,  but  did  so  in  per 
fect  order.     This  tenacity  in  holding  his  position  against 
such  overwhelming  odds  aided  materially  in  enabling 
General  Rosecrans  to  retrieve  the  disaster  of  the  day, 
and  on  the  subsequent  days  turn  this  defeat  into  a  glo 
rious  victory.     Falling  back  in  good  order,  they  did  not 
disturb  the  lines  of  Rousseau's  division,  but  united  with 
and  strengthened  it  to  hold  the  rebels  finally  in  check, 
while  General  Rosecrans  formed  a  new  and  impregnable 
line.     During  the   subsequent  days,  though  holding  an  ' 
important  position,  Sheridan's  division  were  not  seriously 

engaged. 

General  Rosecrans,  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  pays 
the  following  high  compliment  to  Sheridan's  generalship : 
"Sheridan,  after  sustaining  four  successive  attacks,  grad 
ually  swung  his  right  round  southeasterly  to  a  north 
western  direction,  repulsing  the  enemy  four  times,  losing 
the  gallant  General  Sill  of  his  right,  and  Colonel  Roberta 
of  his  left  brigade ;  when,  having  exhausted  his  ammuni 
tion,  Negley's  division  being  in  the  same  predicament 
and  heavily  pressed,  after  desperate  fighting  they  fell 
back  from   the   position    held   at   the   commencement, 
through  the  cedar  woods,  in  which  Rousseau's  division, 
with  1  portion  of  Negley's  and   Sheridan's,  met  the  ad 
vancing  enemy  and  checked  his  movements." 

For  his  gallantry  in  this  battle,  General  Rosecrans 
suggested,  and  the  President  recommended  Sheridan's 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  his  commission 
to  date  from  December  31st,  1862.  He  was  at  once 

confirmed  by  the  Senate. 

19 


218  CUE   GSEAT   CAPTAINS. 

In  March,  1863,  General  Sheridan  commanded  a  scout 
ing  expedition,  in  which  lie  fully  reconnoitred  the 
enemy's  position,  took  a  considerable  number  of  pris 
oners,  and  defeated  several  bodies  of  rebel  troops  which 
were  sent  out  to  meet  him,  and  returned  with  a  loss  of 
only  five  killed  and  five  wounded.  For  some  months  he 
was  engaged  in  bringing  his  men  into  the  highest  state 
of  drill  and  discipline,  while  awaiting  a  forward  move 
ment. 

The  advance,  so  long  expected,  took  place  on  the  23d 
of  June,  1863,  and  to  Sheridan's  division  was  assigned 
the  duty  of  driving  the  rebels  out  of  Liberty  Gap,  a 
strong  mountain  pass  which  was  one  of  the  keys  to  the 
'rebel  position.  He  was  successful  in  this  enterprise  and 
soon  occupied  Shelbyville,  which  had  been  evacuated  by 
the  enemy  as  untenable  after  the  capture  of  the  gap. 
He  did  not  remain  long  here,  however,  but  pushed  for 
ward  to  Winchester,  Tennessee,  which,  by  a  flank  move 
ment,  he  had  compelled  the  enemy  to  abandon.  The 
subsequent  movements  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
in  approaching  Chattanooga  were  slow,  in  consequence 
of  the  necessity  of  repairing  the  railroad  and  bringing 
forward  supplies,  and  there  were  no  incidents  of  import 
ance  till  about  the  beginning  of  September,  when  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  dif 
ferent  points, — Sheridan's  division  moving  to  Bridge 
port,  and  crossing  on  a  pontoon  bridge,  and  thence  pass 
ing  by  way  of  Trenton  to  Winston  gap  of  Lookout 
mountain,  thus  flanking  the  rebel  position  at  Chatta 
nooga,  and  compelling  them  to  evacuate  that  position. 
Though  General  llosecrans  had  put  a  small  garrison 
into  Chattanooga,  lie  well  knew  that  he  could  only  hold 
it  by  fighting  Bragg's  army,  which  had  retreated  to 
wards  Lafayette ;  and  General  Sheridan,  who  had  been 


(JENERAL   S^EBIDAN. 

ordered  to  make  a  reconnoissance,  ascertained,  on  the 
12th  of  September,  that  the  rebels  had  been  largely  re 
inforced,  the  paroled  prisoners  of  Vicksburg,  one  corps 
from  Lee's  army,  and  considerable  bodies  of  troops  from 
Charleston  and  Mobile  having  joined  them.     These  ad 
ditions  made  their  force  materially  larger  than  that  of 
General  Rosecrans,  which  also,  owing  to  the  topograph 
ical  difficulties   encountered,  was  scattered.      By  great 
efforts,  however,  he  succeeded  in  concentrating   them, 
and  on  the  19th  and  20th  of  September  was  fought  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga— a  battle  attended  with  great  loss 
of  life  and  manifold  disasters,  but  which,  after  all,  left  in 
the  hands  of  the  Union   army  the  substantial  fruits  of 
victory,  inasmuch  as  they  held  Chattanooga,  the  prize 
for  which  both  armies  were  contending.     In  this  great 
battle,  General  Sheridan  bore  an  honorable  part.     On 
the  first  day,  his  division,  moving  up  promptly  at  the 
word  of  command,  saved  Wood's  division  from  disaster, 
and  retrieved  the  fortunes  of  the  day.     On  the  20th,  as 
at  Stone  river,  the  breaking  of  Brannan's  and  Wood^s 
divisions  imperilled  Sheridan's,  and  though  a  part  of  it 
charged  gallantly  against  the  on-coming  foe,  it  was  at 
last  flanked  and  compelled  to  fall  back  by  the  enemy ; 
but  owing  to  the  thorough    discipline  enforced  by  its 
commander  it  rallied  in  good  order  in  Dry  valley,  and 
taking  a  circuitous  route  came  up  by  the  Lafayette  road 
in  season  to  support  General  Thomas  effectively  in  the 
long  and  desperate  struggle  of  the  afternoon  and  even 
ing?    It  has  always  been  a  noticeable  feature  of  General 
Sheridan's  military  character,  that  he  possessed  in  an  ex- 
traordinary  degree  the  power  of  rallying,  reforming,  and 
leading  on  his  men  to  victory  when  they  were  broken 
and  discomfited.      We  shall  see  other  instances  of  this  in 
his  history. 


220  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

A  change  of  commanders  followed  soon  after.  Gen 
eral  Thomas  succeeded  General  Rosecrans;  the  two  corps 
commanded  by  Generals  McCook  and  Crittenden  were 
consolidated  into  one,  under  the  command  of  General 
Gordon  Granger  ;  and  two  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tornac,  under  General  Hooker,  and  the  army  of  the  Ten 
nessee,  under  General  Sherman,  were  added  to  the  force 
at  Chaitanooga,  and  the  whole  force  placed  under  the 
command  of  General  Grant.  General  Sheridan  com 
manded  an  enlarged  division  in  General  Granger's 
corps. 

Meantime  Bragg  still  threatened  the  Union  forces  in 
Chattanooga,  and  at  last  sent  a  message  that  he  was 
about  to  bombard  the  city.  General  Grant,  who  had 
been  watching  all  his  manoauvres  as  keenly  as  a  tiger 
watches  its  prey,  ascertained  that  he  had  sent  Long- 
street  with  20,000  men  to  reconquer  East  Tennessee, 
and  at  once  sprang  upon  him  ; — sending  Hooker's  force 
to  drive  him  from  Lookout  mountain,  throwing  forward 
Thomas's  army  to  seize  Orchard  knob  and  the  forts  in 
front  of  Chattanooga,  moving  Sherman  across  the  Ten 
nessee  to  carry  his  position  at  the  termination  of 
Mission  ridge,  and  assault  persistently  and  determinedly 
the  strong  fort  and  rifle-pits  on  Tunnel  hill  (a  cavalry 
expedition  meantime  cutting  the  East  Tennessee  rail 
road),  and,  when  Sherman  had  drawn  by  his  repeated  as 
saults  the  greater  part  of  Bragg's  forces  to  Fort  Buck- 
ner,  hurling  Gordon  Granger's  corps  upon  Fort  Bragg, 
the  strongest  and  most  formidable  of  the  defences  of 
Mission  ridge.  Each  body  of  troops  did  its  work  splen 
didly  ;  but  of  all  the  movements  in  this  grand  combina 
tion,  that  of  Granger's  corps  against  Mission  ridge  was 
the  most  brilliant  and  heart-stirring.  Between  three  and 
four  o'clock  p.  M.,  at  the  signal,  the  firing  of  six  guns, 


GENERAL  SHEKTOAN. 

that  magnificent  corps,  almost  wholly  composed  of  vet 
erans,  sprang  at  once  to  arms,  and  in  five  minutes  were 
on  their  way  across  the  plain  swept  by  the  fire  of  fifty 
cannon  and  five  thousand  muskets ,-not  a  man  flinching, 
not  a  straggler  falling  back  from   the   firm  lines  that 
moved  with    the    precision  of  machinery  towards   th< 
mountain.     With  a  shout  they  enter  and  clear  the  f 
rifle-pits,  flinging  the   captured    rebels   back   into   the 
storm  of  iron  and  leaden  hail  through  which  they  have 
iiist  passed.    With  another  shout  they  commence  the  as 
cent  of  the  mountain,  a  difficult  task  even  without  oppo 
sition  -tenfold  more  difficult  now,  when  the  air  is  tilled 
with  missiles  which  rain  pitilessly  upon  them :  up,  up  to  tl 
second  rifle-pits,  which   they  clear   with  a  bound,  ti 
blin<*  their  occupants  down  the  steep  mountain-side;  and 
up,  up  again,  though  the  ascent  is  almost  perpendicular, 
till  almost  breathless  they  reach  the  summit,  and  bound 
ing  upon  it,  realize  from  the  swift  retreat  of  the  i 

the  field  is  won.  . 

In  this  grand  assault,  General  Sheridan  and  his  divis 
ion  were  nobly  conspicuous.      He  had  felt  keenly  the 
breakincr  of  his  division  at  Chickamauga,  though  it  was 
so  nobly  aton0d  for  in  their  subsequent  support  ot  General 
Thomas,  and  riding  in  the  advance,  he  called  in  thunder 
tones  to  his  division,  -  Show  the  Fourth  corps  that  the 
men  of  the  old  Twentieth  are  still  alive  and  can  fight 
Remember    Chickamauga."       Ever   in   the   front,    and 
alwavs  coolest  in  the  moment  of  the  greatest  peril,  he  took 
a  flask  from  one  of  his  aids,  filled  the  pewter  cup,  and 
raising  his  cap  to  the  rebel  battery,  drank  it  off  wit: 
"how  are  you  ?»'  never  checking  for  a  moment  the  speed 
of  his  advance.     The  rebels  most  ungenerously  respond- 
ed  by  firing  the  six  guns  of  one  of  their  batteries  at  the 
daring  rider,  and  showering  him  with  earth,  but  doing 


19* 


222  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

no  other  damage.  Cheering  his  men  forward  to  the  ' 
charge,  he  now  put  spurs  to  his  noble  steed,  and  ere 
many  minutes  passed  was  on  the  summit,  dashing  after 
the  rebels.  For  a  few  minutes  there  was  sharp  fighting, 
and  General  Sheridan's  horse  was  killed  under  him,  and 
he  leaped  at  once  upon  a  rebel  cannon ;  but  as  he  could 
not  keep  up  with  his  men  on  this,  he  soon  found  another 
horse,  and  pushed  on  down  the  eastern  slope  of  Mission 
i;idge,  after  the  now  fast-flying  enemy,  pushing  them  as 
far  as  Mission  mills,  where,  the  next  day,  other  troops 
took  up  the  pursuit.  Two  days  later,  he  was  on  his  way 
with  his  division,  under  General  Sherman's  command,  to 
raise  the  siege  of  Knoxville,  and  this  accomplished,  re 
turned  to  Chattanooga.  In  February,  he  was  again  sent 
into  East  Tennessee,  in  command  of  two  divisions  of 
troops,  to  drive  the  rebels  out  of  East  Tennessee,  which 
he  accomplished,  though  not  without  great  exposure  and 
suffering. 

In  March,  1864,  General  Grant  having  been  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general,  and  appointed  to  the 
command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  sum 
moned  the  principal  generals  in  the  Western  departments 
to  a  special  conference  at  Nashville.  General  Sheridan, 
among  others,  was  present  at  this  conference,  and  at  its 
conclusion  was  ordered  to  report  at  Washington.  At 
the  beginning  of  April  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  reliev 
ing  General  Pleasonton,  who  was  ordered  to  report  to 
General  Rosecrans  for  duty  in  Missouri. 

His  corps  thoroughly  organized,  and  each  of  its  three 
divisions  placed  under  the  command  of  daring  and  capa 
ble  generals,  General  Sheridan  reported  himself  ready 
for  duty ;  and  when  the  first  movement  commenced  on 
the  4th  of  May,  1 864,  the  cavalry  corps  was  actively  en- 


GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 

gn-ed  in  protecting  the  flanks  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
Lie,  and  reconnoitring  the  position  and  movements  ot 
he  e,,emv.      In  the  performance  of  th,s  duty  they  en- 
countered  the  rebel  force  in  considerable  numbers ;  and 
action,  of  some  importance  occurred   at  Craig's  church 
at  Parker's  store,  and   at  Todd's  tavern.     1  he  cavahy 
were   also  held  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  army 
trains   and   the   ambulances   containing   the 
Bounded,  for  the  first  four  or  five  days  of  the  campaign. 
On  the  9th  of  May  they  were  relieved  from  this  dntj, 
and  General    Meade    directed    him   to   select    .he  bes 
mounted  troops  of  his  command  and  start  off  on  an  ex- 
I     ion  to  the  rear  of  Lee's  army,  and  out  off  his  con, 
Lunications  and  supplies,  allowing  him  ful   discretion  as 
to  the  best  plan  of  effecting  the  object  of  the  erpedmon. 
General  Sheridan  at  once  made  preparation  for  tins  nn- 
portant  movement,  selecting  the  ^-office^vho  were 
to  accompany  him,  ordering  the  issuing   of  three  days 
a!      to  .Is  men,  and  leaving  behind  every  tlung  in 
the  wav  of  a  train  except  the  ammunition-wagons  and 
^ambulances.    The  baggage  actually  ind.speusable 
was  carried  on  paek-mules.      Thus  freed  from  mcum- 
brances,  he  moved,  on  the  same  day  on  winch  Gene.al 
Meade's  order  was  given,  Awards  Fredericksbugbut 
before  reaching  that  city  turned  off  towards  Child  b« .g, 
and  after  a  short  rest  moved  thence  to  Beaver  Dam  * ^ 
tion,on  the  Virginia  Central  road,  crossing :  the ,  No,th 
Anna  river  at  the  fords.     At  Beaver  dam  they  found  a 
febel    provost-guard,   with  more   than    three    hundred 
Union  prisone,;  who  had  been  captured  the  day  before 
at  Spottsvlvania;  these  they  promptly  released,  taking 
the   rebel   guard    prisoners.      Thence   moving  towards 
W£*2  detachment  was  sent  to  Ashland  staUon 
on  the  Fredericksburg  road,  where  they  destroyed  rail 


224r  OUE   G3EAT   CAPTAINS. 

road-track,  trains,  station-houses,  and  other  rebel  gov 
ernment  property,  and  then  after  a  sharp  fight  rejoined 
the  main  column.  On  the  llth  of  May,  Sheridan's  com 
mand  had  reached  a  point  within  six  miles  of  Richmond. 
Here  they  encountered  the  rebel  cavalry  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieutenant-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  in  person  ; 
and  a  severe  battle  took  place,  in  which  General  Stuart 
was  killed,  and  some  rebel  guns  captured.  The  next 
morning,  before  daybreak,  a  detachment  was  sent  tow 
ards  Richmond  to  reconnoitre,  and  penetrated  to  the 
second  line  of  the  defences  of  that  city,  within  less  than 
two  miles  of  the  capital,  and  having  captured  a  rebel 
courier,  withdrew.  Early  in  the  morning  of  May  12, 
Sheridan's  advance  approached  Meadow  bridge  on  the 
Chickahorniny,  where  they  again  encountered  the  enemy, 
who  had  destroyed  the  bridge  and  constructed  defences 
commanding  the  railroad  bridge,  over  which  the  Union 
troops  must  cross.  Nothing  daunted,  Sheridan's  gallant 
troopers  dashed  across ;  and  though  compelled  to  traverse 
about  half  a  mile  of  swampy  ground,  rushed  on  the  rebel 
works,  and  carried  them  after  a  most  determined  resist 
ance. 

Meantime,  another  rebel  force  had  come  up  in  his  rear 
and  surrounded  his  command.  Cool  and  calm  as  the 
Union  commander  habitually  was  in  the  most  trying  cir 
cumstances,  here  was  a  position  to  task  his  finest  ener 
gies  in  generalship.  To  attempt  to  retreat  would  inevit 
ably  be  fatal ;  to  go  forward  was  to  encounter  a  rebel 
force  greatly  outnumbering  his  own,  and  to  cross  a  dif- 
^ficult  river  (the  Chickahominy)  under  their  concentrated 
fire.  His  decision  was  quickly  made.  It  was,  to  recon 
struct  the  Meadow  bridge  over  the  Chickahominy,  and 
cross  it  with  his  force  and  train.  This  he  accomplished, 
though  under  fire  all  the  time,  keeping  the  rebels  at  bay 


GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 

with   his  artillery  the  while,  and  repelling  their  charges 
bv  fierce  counter-charges.     Once  or  twice  his  men  we. 
slowly  pressed  back,  but  he  encouraged  them,  and,  fight- 
in*  under  his  eye,  they  soon  regained  their  position.   At 
length  the  bridge  was   completed,  and  his  ammunition 
train  was  to  be  taken  across  it;  and,  if  the  rebel  fire  con 
tinued,  it   could  scarcely  escape  destruction  from  explo 
sion     a   destruction  which   would  imperil  his  force  and 
render  their  capture  or  death  inevitable.      But  not  for  a 
sino-le  moment  did  his  self-possession  forsake  him.  When 
th*  train  was  ready  for  advancing,  he  ordered  up  an  am 
munition-wagon,  supplied   his  men  who  had  fallen  back 
with  fresh  cartridges,  and,  placing  himself  at  their  head, 
said  •  "  Boys,  you  see  those  fellows  yonder?     They  are 
green  recruits  just  from  Richmond.  There's  not  a  veteran 
among  them.     You  have  fought  them  well  to-day  but 
we    have  got  to   whip  them.     We   can  do  it   and  we 
will!"     The  men  responded  with  a  rousing  cheer,  and 
with  the  order,    « Forward  !-Charge !»     in    his    clear 
rinrring  tones,  he  led  them  on  in  a  charge  which  sent 
the° rebels  flying  back  to  their  works ;  and  his  artillery 
opened  upon    them,    adding    greatly  to   their   terror. 
Under  cover    of  this    charge  the  train  crossed  in  per 
fect  safety.     Pressing  hard  upon  the   now  beaten  and 
demoralized    foe,    amid  a  most    terrific  thunder-storm, 
in  which    it  was   difficult   to    distinguish    between    the 
artillery  of  heaven    and   the  thunder  of   his    guns    he 
drove  them  back  to  Mechanicsville,  and  finally  to  Cold 
Harbor  capturing  a  considerable  number,  and  encamped 
•with  his:  wearied'command  near  Gaines'  Mills     The  next 
day  he  moved  on  to  Bottom's  bridge,  and  the  day  fi 
lowino-  to  General  Butler's  headquarters,  not   being  mo- 
lested°in  any  of  his  movements.     He  then  opened  corr 
munition  with   Yorktown,  and  thence  with  Washing 


226  OUE   GRKAT   CAPTAINS. 

ton.  Other  expeditions  may  have  resulted  in  a  larger 
destruction  of  property,  the  capture  of  more  prisoners, 
or  the  traversing  a  larger  region  of  territory,  but  none 
during  the  war  has  carried  greater  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  the  enemy,  or  more  gallantly  extricated  itself  from  a 
position  of  extraordinary  difficulty. 

The  next  few  days  were  spent  in  co-operation  with  the 
great  army,  now  on  its  way  towards  the  Chickahominy. 
General  Sheridan's  headquarters  were  at  the  White 
House,  on  the  Pamunkey ;  but  he  was  for  the  most  part 
at  the  front,  directing  the  movements  of  the  cavalry  pro 
tecting  both  wings  of  Grant's  army,  and  several  times 
engaged  in  sharp  conflicts  with  the  rebel  cavalry,  now 
under  the  command  of  Fitzhugh  Lee.  On  the  31st  of 
May  he  took  possession  of  Cold  Harbor,  his  troops  hav 
ing  orders  to  hold  it  until  relieved  by  the  infantry.  This 
was  done,  though  with  considerable  loss,  for  more  than 
twenty-four  hours,  when  the  infantry  force  came  up ;  and 
General  Sheridan  then  moved  forward  and  guarded  the 
flank  of  Grant's  army  in  its  movement  to  and  across  the 
James.  This  accomplished,  he  set  out  on  the  8th  of 
June  for  a  second  cavalry  expedition  into  the  heart  of 
the  rebel  country.  This  time  his  object  was  to  penetrate 
northward  and  westward  of  Lee's  lines,  and  cut  the  Vir 
ginia  Central  railroad  at  some  point  which  should  effect 
ually  prevent  the  movement  of  supplies  or  troops  from 
the  Virginia  and  Tennessee  railroad  towards  Richmond. 
Gordonsville  and  Charlottesville  were  the  objective 
points  at  which  he  aimed;  and  had  his  movements  been 
properly  sustained  by  those  of  General  Hunter,  he  would 
have  succeeded  to  the  utmost  of  his  hopes.  As  it  was, 
however,  lie  accomplished  very  much  in  the  way  of  em 
barrassing  the  enemy.  Crossing  the  Pamunkey,  he 
moved  at  once  to  Aylett's  station ;  thence  the  next  day 


997 
GENERAL   SHERIDAN. 


to  the  Fredericksburg  railroad  at  Chesterfield  station, 
where   he  seriously  damaged  the  railroad;   thence  to 
<3*M     Newmarket,    and    Mount    Pleasant,    and 
ero  Id  KN.K  creek  at  Young's  bridge.    On  the  morn- 
,  ^of  the  ,0th  of  June  he  moved  forward  agam;  and  hav- 
„:  crossed  both  branches  of  the  North  Anna  rive,,  en 
camped  at  Buck  Childs,a  small  village  three  miles  north 
of  Trevilian  station,  on  the  Virginia  Central  ra.lroad.     I 
had  been  his  intention  to  destroy  the  railroad  trom  this 
J  t"  vest  for  some  distance,  and  then,  marclnng  through 
Lenttsville,  to  cut  the    railroad  extens.vely  between 
Gordonsville   and   Charlottes  He,   and   march   at    once 
upon  Charlottesville.     On  arriving  at  Buck  Childs  Iv 
eve,    he  found  the  rebel  cavalry  in  his  front,  and  name- 
red  to    ive  them  battle.     Becalhng  Ins  old 


attacking  them  in  rear,  their  route  was  compete  and 
Sheridan  established  his  headquarters  that  mght  at  T 

"  T!!;  next  morning,  the  railroad  from  Trevilian  station 
to      uisa  Court-House  was  completely  destroye  ,  the  Ues 
burned,  and  the  rails  twisted  and  bent  so  «  to  be  uV 
terly  unserviceable.     This  occupied  from  daybreak  to  . 
r  i  ,  of  the  12th   of  June.     The  rebel,,  meanUme,  had 
con^ntrated  in  considerable  force  at  Gordonsv,  M  ,  and 
advancing  towards  Trevilian,  commenced  the  con  t, 
L  of  rme-pits  at  a  distance  of  about  four  ms  to  re 
sist  the  movements  of  Sheridan.     After  a 
noissance,  General  Sheridan  found  the  enemy 


228 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


posted  to  be  effectively  assailed  by  his  light  artillery,  es 
pecially  as  his  ammunition  was  getting  low,  and  there 
fore  declined  a  general  assault.     On  the  extreme  right, 
however,  the  Union  troops  assaulted  and  carried  the  en 
emy's  lines  again  and  again,  but  were  eventually  driven 
from  them  by  the  long-range  guns  of  the  rebel  infantry ; 
and  finding  his  ammunition  giving  out,  and  being  unable 
to  obtain  forage  for  his  horses,  General  Sheridan  deter 
mined  to  withdraw ;  but  he  carried  out  this  determina 
tion   in  a  characteristic  way.     Returning   to   Trevilian 
station,  he  ordered  supper,  inviting  his  generals  to  sup 
with  him ;  and  having  given  orders  for  the  removal  of  the 
wounded  who  could  be  moved,  and  detailed  surgeons  to 
stay  with  those  who  were  most   severely  injured,  and 
perfected  his  order  of  march,  he  partook  quietly  of  his 
tea,  and  then  set  about  the  withdrawal  of  his  force  from 
a  position  in  which  nearly  the  entire  cavalry  of  the  rebel 
army  confronted  it.     While  the  train  and  the  rear  di 
visions  were  moving  off  with  the  wounded,  he  ordered 
forty  rounds  of  canister  to  be  fired  at  the  rebel  position  ; 
and  when  the  enemy,  sorely  cut  up  by  this  fire,  attempted 
to  take  the  battery  by  a  bold,  sudden  dash,  he  charged 
upon  them  with  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  at  the  same  time 
pouring  in  a  full  round  of  canister  at  very  short  range, 
and  hurled  them  back,  while  the  gun  was  withdrawn, 
and    then,  when    they  were  retreating,  moved    quietly 
back ;  and  all  his  men  being,  by  day-dawn,  well  out  of 
Trevilian  station,  he  marched  the  next  day  fifteen  miles, 
to  Troyrnan's  store,  without  the  slightest  opposition,  and 
the  day  following   (June   14th)  reached  the  vicinity  of 
Spottsylvania   Court-house,  which   a  month   before  had 
been  the  scene  of  such  bloody  and  terrible  battles.    Here 
he  remained  a  day,  and  on  Wednesday  evening  reached 
Guiney's  station,  on  the  Fredericksburg  and  Richmond 


GENERAL   SHERIDAN 


railroad,  where  he  established  his  headquarters  for  the 
time,  bat  soon  moved  to  White  House,   and  thence 
marched  to  the  James,  to  join  General  Grant      While 
moving  towards  the  James,  they  were  attacked  by  the 
enemy  on  the  23d  of  June,  at  Jones's  bridge,  over  the 
Chickahominy,  and  on  the  24th,  near  St.  Mary's  church 
the  rebels  being  on  both  occasions  in  strong  force,  and 
fully  confident  of  their  ability  to  overwhelm  him.     Sher 
idan  acted  entirely  on  the  defensive,  but  produced  such 
terrible  havoc  among  the  enemy  with  his  artillery,  fight- 
ino-  at  short  range,  that  they  were  in  the  end  very  will 
ing  to  withdraw.     During  the  afternoon  and  night  of 
June  25th,  General  Sheridan  crossed  the  James  river, 
five  miles  above  Fort  Powhatan,  on  a  pontoon  bridge, 
protected  on  either  side  by  gunboats,  without  loss,  tl 
enemy  being  kept  at  bay  by  the  gunboats. 

Durino-  the  next  thirty  days,  his  cavalry  were  engaged 
in  cutting  the  railroads  to  the  south  and  southwest  ol 
Petersburg;  and  on  the  27th  of  July,  crossed  the  James 
at  Deep  Bottom,  and  on  the  28th,  fought  a  severe  battle 
with  the  rebels  near  Malvern  Hill,  holding  their  position 
for  some  hours  against  a  greatly  superior  force. 

Meantime  the  third   rebel  invasion  of  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania,  via  the   Shenandoah  valley,  was  in  prog 
ress,  and  the  national  capital  was  more  seriously  threat 
ened  than  ever  before  ;  and  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania, 
IIa<rerrtown  and  Frederick,  Maryland,  were  occupie, 
the"  rebel  General    Ewell,  and  Baltimore    endangered 
This  movement  was  intended  to  call  off  General  Grant 
from  the  siege  of  Richmond,  where  the  pressure  of  his 
grip  was  becoming  unendurable  ;  but  he  was  not  to  b 
thus  lured  from  his  prey;  he  could  and  did  spare  one 
corps,  the  Sixth,  to  the  defence  of  Washington  ;  but  tl 
other  forces  for  the  defence  of  that  region  must  be  drawn 


230 


OUR    GREAT    CAl'TAINS. 


from  other   sources.     The  Nineteenth  corps,  from  the 
Department  of  the  Gulf,  was  on  its  way  thither,  and  the 
very  considerable  force  in  Western  Virginia,  Eastern  and 
Western   Pennsylvania,   and    Maryland,   though   partly 
composed  of  militia,  was,  if  rightly  handled,  amply  suffi 
cient  to    hold   the  territory    around   Washington,  and 
drive  back  the  invader  to  Southern   Virginia.     It  was, 
however,  the   misfortune  of  these  troops  to  be  included 
in  four  distinct  military  departments,  the  commanders  of 
which,  jealous  of  their  respective  prerogatives,  did  not 
co-operate  harmoniously  with  each  other.     Washington 
and    Baltimore,  and  the  country  adjacent,   formed  the 
Department  of  Washington  ;  Eastern  and  Central  Penn 
sylvania  and   Northern    Maryland,   the    Department  of 
the  Susquehanna;  Northwestern  Virginia  and  Westerr 
Pennsylvania,  the  Department   of  West  Virginia;  and 
the  region  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  eastward  to  the  Bull 
Run  mountains,  the  Middle  Department.     It  was  one  of 
those  inspirations  which  have  stamped  General  Grant  as 
one  of  the  ablest  military  minds  of  the  century,  which 
led  him  to  propose  the  combination  of  these  four  depart 
ments  into  one  grand  military  division,  to  be  called  the 
Middle  Military  Division,  and  subsequently  the  Military 
Division  of  the  Shenandoah.     In  the  extent  of  its  terri 
tory,  this  division  was  hardly  inferior  to  any  of  the  others, 
and  in  the  difficulty  of  its  management,  it  yielded  the 
palm  to  none.     For  its  command,  which  required  mili 
tary  genius  of  a  very  high   order,  General  Grant,  with 
his   usual  sagacity,  selected  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan. 
Though  the  junior  in  years  of  every  major-general  in  the 
division,  he   had   already  exhibited   a  skill   and   tact  in 
handling  troops,  a  combination  of  caution  and  audacity, 
a  celerity  of  movement,  and  a  fertility  of  resource,  which 
indicated  him  as  the  man  for  the  place. 


GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  231 

On  the  7th  of  August  he  received  his  command,  and 
on  the  same  day  established  his  headquarters  at  Har 
per's  Ferry.  Concentrating  his  troops  at  once  along  the 
Potomac,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  whither  General  Early,  now  in  command  of  the 
rebel  forces,  had  withdrawn  with  his  troops  and  plunder, 
General  Sheridan  gradually  pressed  the  rebels  back  from 
the  important  positions  of  Martinsburg,  Williamsport, 
&c.,  garrisoning  these  as  fast  as  they  were  relinquished, 
and  establishing  complete  and  prompt  communications 
between  his  headquarters  and  the  advanced  posts.  He 
then  began  to  make  feints  of  an  advance,  in  order  to  test 
the  enemy's  strength  and  position.  Early,  who  prided 
himself  on  his  astuteness,  fell  back  gradually,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  luring  Sheridan  on;  but  Sheridan  would  not  move 
till  he  was  ready,  and  understood  too  fully  Early's  plots, 
and  the  objects  to  be  accomplished,  to  make  any  prema 
ture  movements.  As  Early  retired,  however,  he  grad 
ually  occupied  every  important  position,  seizing  and  se 
curing  Winchester  on  the  12th  of  August,  and  throwing 
out  a  cavalry  detachment  to  Front  Royal,  where  they 
encountered  and  defeated,  after  a  sharp  struggle,  the 
rebel  cavalry.  This  accomplished,  he  fell  back  in  turn, 
abandoning  Winchester,  and  awaiting  at  Harper's  Ferry 
and  its  vicinity  the  concentration  of  his  forces.  As  he 
expected,  this  brought  the  rebel  troops  northward  again, 
and  several  sharp  skirmishes  took  place,  Sheridan's  cav 
alry,  under  General  Torbert,  meantime  reconnoitring 
thoroughly  the  enemy's  position,  and  taking  note  of  all 
his  movements.  Finding  that  there  was  some  danger  of 
their  moving  southward  to  join  General  Lee,  a  move 
ment  which  \vas  to  be  prevented  at  all  hazards,  Gen 
eral  Sheridan  again  advanced,  as  if  to  give  them  battle, 
and  thus  arrested  their  progress,  and  then  again  with 


232 


OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


drew  towards  Charlestown  to  attract  them  nearer  to  the 
Potomac.  General  Early  thought  Sheridan  was  afraid, 
and  that  by  good  management  he  might  flank  him,  and 
entering  Maryland  again,  reap  another  harvest  of 
plunder.  Accordingly,  he  moved  east  to  Berryville, 
and  issued  a  long  general  order  to  his  troops,  forbid 
ding  straggling  and  depredations  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 

General  Early  had  entirely  misconceived  the  character 
and  abilities  of  his  opponent,  as  he  soon  found  to  his 
cost.  His  movement  to  Berryville  was  made  on  the  16th 
of  September,  and  it  found  Sheridan  fully  prepared  to 
act.  General  Grant,  by  his  heavy  blows  upon  Lee's 
forces  at  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  was  effectually  pre 
venting  that  general  from  sending  any  aid  to  Early,  and 
Sheridan's  force  was  sufficient  to  handle  his  opponent 
very  roughly.  On  the  18th  of  September  his  cavalry 
met  and  defeated  the  rebels  at  Darksville,  on  Ope- 
quan  creek,  north  of  Winchester,  while  his  infantry  had 
driven  the  main  rebel  force  from  Perryville  towards 
Winchester,  where  they  had  been  joined  by  the  rebel 
cavalry,  retreating  from  Darksville. 

Sheridan  had  now  his  antagonist  in  the  very  position 
which  he  desired.  He  had  crowded  him  west  of 
Opequan  creek,  and  by  the  location  of  his  own  army  was 
between  him  and  his  true  line  of  retreat  towards  Rich 
mond,  southeast  through  the  gaps  in  the  Blue  ridge. 
If  now,  by  quick  and  heavy  blows,  he  could  rout  and 
drive  him  southwestward,  he  would  effectually  cripple 
him,  for  the  time  at  least.  The  battle  began  at  day 
light  on  Monday  morning,  September  19th,  by  the  at 
tack  of  Wilson's  cavalry  on  the  rebels  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Opequan.  By  some  misunderstanding  the  infantry 
were  not  brought  into  the  action  till  near  noon,  and 


GENERAL   SHERIDAN.  233 


thou-h  the  resistance  of  the  rebels  was  stubborn  and 
continued    until  5   P.  M,  they  were  finally  completely 
routed,   driven    through,  or,  as  General  Sheridan  very 
forcibly  expressed    it   in   his   dispatch,   "sent  whirling 
through  Winchester,"  and  pursued  relentlessly  ti  1  they 
reached  their  defences  at  Fisher's  Hill,  thirty  miles  be 
low  Winchester,  where  they  succeeded  in  rallying  for 
another  stand.     In    this   disastrous   battle    and   retreat 
three  of  their  ablest  generals  were  killed  and  four  more 
severely  wounded.      Among  the   latter   was   Fitzhugh 
Lee  the  commander  of  the  rebel  cavalry  of  the  Army  of 
Virginia.     They  lost,  also,  between  3,000  and   4,000  m 
killed  and  wounded,  nearly  5,000  prisoners,  fifteen  battl 
flao-s,  and  five  pieces  of  artillery. 

With  the  celerity  which  has  always  marked  his  move 
ments,  Sheridan  now  brought  up  his  entire  force  to  as 
sault  the  strong  position  of  the  rebels  on  Fisher's  B 
The  works  were  too  formidable  to  be  carried  by  an  at- 
tack  in  front  alone,  and  therefore,  while  keeping  up  a 
feint   of  a   front   attack,   the    Eighth    corps    (General 
Crooks')  was  sent  far  to  the  right,  and  sweeping  about 
the  enemy's  left,  flanked  him,  attacked  him  in  rear,  in  a 
gallant  charge,  driving  him  out  of  his   intrenchments ; 
while  the  Sixth  corps  attacked  at  the  same  time  in  the 
centre,  front,  and  the  Nineteenth  (Emory's)  on  the  left; 
Averill  with  his  cavalry  ranging  the  while  along  the  base  of 
South  Mountain.     Confused  and  disorganized  by  attacks 
at  so  many  different  points,  the  enemy  broke  at  the  cen- 
tre,  and  the  Sixth  corps  separating  his  two  wings,  he  fled 
in  complete  disorganization  towards  Woodstock.     Artil 
lery  horses,  wagons,  rifles,  knapsacks,  and  canteens  were 
abandoned  and  strewn  along  the  road.     Eleven  hundred 
prisoners  and  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery  were  captured  ; 
the  pursuit  was  continued  until  the  25th,  and  did  not 
20* 


234:  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

conclude  till  the  enemy  had  been  driven  below  Port 
Republic,  and  many  of  them  had  scattered  in  the  moun 
tains,  sick  of  the  conflict  and  determined  to  abandon  it. 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  from  the  19th  to  the  25th  of 
September,  in  killed,  wounded,  prisoners,  and  missing, 
was  not  less  than  10,000. 

Tliis  victory  occasioned  great  rejoicing  throughout  the 
North.  Salutes  were  fired  on  the  26th  of  September  at 
all  military  posts  in  the  United  States ;  and  the  brave 
and  skilful  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah 
was  appointed  by  the  President  a  brigadier-general  in 
the  regular  army,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  the  lamented  McPherson. 

While  General  Sheridan  made  his  headquarters  at 
Port  Republic,  he  sent  his  cavalry  under  General  Torbert 
forward  to  Staunton  ;  which  place  they  captured,  and  de 
stroyed  all  the  storehouses,  machine-shops,  and  other 
buildings,  owned  or  occupied  by  the  rebel  government, 
and  also  the  saddles,  small-arms,  hard  bread,  and  other 
military  stores  found  in  the  place.  They  then  proceeded 
to  Waynesboro,  also  on  the  Virginia  Central  railroad; 
tore  up  seven  miles  of  the  railroad  track,  destroyed  the 
depot,  the  iron  bridge  over  the  Shenandoah,  a  govern 
ment  tannery,  and  other  stores.  General  Sheridan  also 
improved  the  time  of  holding  possession  of  the  Shenan 
doah  valley  to  destroy  all  the  grain,  hay,  and  forage  to 
be  found  there,  excepting  what  was  necessary  for  the 
subsistence  of  his  own  army;  and  thus  effectually  crippled 
both  Early's  army  and  Lee's,  both  of  which  had  depended 
upon  this  fertile  valley  as  the  granary  from  which  to 
draw  most  of  their  supplies  of  grain  and  forage.  The 
whole  valley  being  thus  rendered  untenable  by  the  rebel 
army,  and  the  guerilla  movements,  which  had  been  en 
couraged  by  the  inhabitants,  who  had  harbored  them, 


GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 


ureiv 


sternly   repressed,   General    Sheridan     moved    l«s, 
northward,  and  on  the  6th  of  October  made  h» 
quarters  at  Woodstock.     South  of  this  pomt,  ove,  t«o 
thousand   barns   filled   with  wheat  and   hay,   and   ove 
seventy  mills  stocked  with  wheat  and  flour,  had  bee, 
destroved  ;    and  a  vast  herd  of  stock,  and   more  than 
Jh       thousand  sheep,  had  been  reserved  for  the  supply 
of  the  army.    The  Luray  valley,  as  well  as  the  Little 
Fort  valley,  were  subjected  to  the  same  devastation,-* 
inhabitants  of  both,  like  those  of  the  Shenandoah,  having 
while  professedly  loyal,  engaged  in  guerilla  opoiatioi 
and  the  murder  of  Union  soldiers. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  the  rebel  General  Rosser,  a 
cavalry  officer  of  considerable  ability,  who  had  just  been 
promld  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  thinking  that  he 
had  found  an  opportunity  to  achieve  a  reputation,  began 


on 


the  morning  of  the  9th,   one 


"even  wagons,  and  over  three  hundred 
ured  bv  the  U,»ion  troops.     The  rebel  cavalry  fled  m 
t£  on  being  charged  by  Sheridan's  cavah-y 
fnd  were  pursued  "on  the  jump"  for  twenty-s.x  m,les 
SJ  pursuit  being  continued  beyond  Mount  Jackson,  and 


puSment  he  had  received,  and  on  the  «M<M*» 
Laving  crept  np  quietly  under  cover  of  the  . 


CUE   GEEAT   CAPTAINS. 

Little  North  mountain,  he  appeared  in  force  on  the 
wooded  slope  south  of  Cedar  creek,  and  commenced  a 
heavy  and  rapid  artillery  fire  on  Sheridan's  lines.  He 
had  not,  however,  approached  so  stealthily  that  General 
Sheridan  was  unaware  of  his  movements,  and  with  a 
promptness  which  showed  that  he  was  not  surprised,  he 
returned  the  artillery  fire,  shot  for  shot,  and  then  order 
ing  forward  his  troops,  sprang  upon  the  foe,  and  after  a 
sharp  action  of  three  hours,  terminating  in  a  cavalry 
charge,  drove  Early  once  more  in  confusion  up  the 
valley. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  General  Early,  General  Sheri 
dan  made  a  flying  visit  of  inspection  to  his  various  out 
posts,  and  employed  a  part  of  his  cavalry  meantime  in 
making  a  thorough  devastation  of  Luray  valley  from 
Front  Royal  to  Sperryville,  the  inhabitants  of  that  valley 
having  harbored  and  aided  the  guerrillas  and  bush 
whackers,  who  were  murdering  the  operatives  along  the 
Manassas  Gap  railroad,  which  General  Sheridan  was  put 
ting  in  repair.  In  this  expedition  sixty-five  hundred  head 
of  cattle  and  five  hundred  horses  were  captured,  and 
thirty-two  large  flouring-mills,  thirty  distilleries,  four 
blast-furnaces,  and  over  fifty  barns  were  destroyed.  By 
holding  Front  Royal,  General  Sheridan  was  enabled  to 
open  communication,  by  way  of  the  Manassas  Gap  rail 
road,  with  Washington,  and  thus  transport  his  supplies 
and  troops  more  expeditiously  than  he  could  do  by  way 
of  Harper's  Ferry.  This  railroad  was  opened  on  the  15th 
of  October,  and  General  Sheridan  passed  over  it  to  Wash 
ington. 

It  was  while  he  was  thus  absent,  that  Early  planned 
another  attack  upon  the  Union  army,  which  was  well- 
nigh  successful,  and  which,  in  all  respects,  proved  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  battles  of  the  war. 


GENERAL  SHEKIDAN.  237 

After  the  battle  of  the  12th,  General  Early  had  fallen 
back  to  his  stronghold  on  Fisher's  Hill,  where  the  dense 
forest  screened  his  movements  from  the   view   of  the 
Union  troops;  and  here,  on  the  18th  of  October  he  had 
been  reinforced  by  about  twelve  thousand  fresh  troops, 
half  or  more  than  half  of  them  without  arms,  but  organ 
ized  and  officered,  and  ready  for  battle  so  soon  as  they 
should  be  able  to  obtain  arms  from  prisoners  or  the  slam 
upon  the  battle-field.     This  accession  made  his  force 
twenty-seven  thousand.     He  had  learned  of  Shendan's 
visit  to  Washington,  and  believed  that  the  Sixth  army 
corps  had  gone  also,  and  that,  with  Sheridan,  it  was  on 
its  way  to  join   Grant's  army.    With  this  impression, 
he    regarded   the   occasion    as    an    auspicious    one    to 
make   one    more   attack,  and   effectually  revenge    him 
self  on  the  army  which  had  thrice  defeated  him ,  and 
twice  sent  his  legions  in  wild  confusion  southward,  al 
most  to  the  sources  of  the  Shenandoah     In  fact,  the 
Sixth  corps  was  still  with  the  Eighth  and  Nineteenth 
forming  the  Army   of  the  Shenandoah;  and  General 
Sheridan,  whom  he  so  justly  dreaded,  was  on  his  way 
back   from  Washington  to  his  command,  and,  on   the 
night  of  the  18th,  had  reached  Winchester.    Had  Early 
known  these  facts,  it  is  very"  questionable  whether  he 
would  have  attempted  the  daring  enterprise  in  which  he 
so  nearly  succeeded,  only  to  fail  most  signally 

The  Union  position  was  an  echelon  of  three  lines, 
posted  on  three  separate  crests  of  moderate  height  in 
the  vicinity  of  Cedar  creek,  near  the  point  where  it 
crosses  the  Strasbnrg  and  Virginia  turnpike,  a  short  d 
tance  northeast  of  Strasburg.  The  Army  of  Western 
Virginia  formed  the  left  wing,  and  occupied  the  most 
advanced  position  on  the  eastern  crest;  the  Nineteenth 
corps  held  the  centre,  half  a  mile  in  rear  of  this  ;  while 


238 


OUR   GREAT  CAPTAINS. 


the  Sixth  coi-ps  occupied  the  right  crest,  which  was  also 
furthest  in  the  rear.     The  fronts  and  the  flanks,  to  some 
extent,  of  the  Army  of  Western  Virginia  and  the  Nine 
teenth  corps,  were  protected  by  breastworks  of  Jogs  and 
earth,  with  batteries  in  place,  and  the  right  was  guarded 
by  Torbert's  cavalry.     In  front,  the  position  was'impreg- 
nable,  except  by  a  surprise,. and  to  turn  either  flank  was 
an  enterprise  so  rash  and  dangerous,  that  it  was  consid 
ered  impossible  by  most  of  the  officers.     In   Sheridan's 
absence,  the  command  devolved  on  General  Wright,  com 
manding  the  Sixth  corps,  as  the  senior  corps  commander. 
With  a  rashness  which  could  have  only  been  inspired 
by  desperation,  since  at  every   point  of  his  progress,  ex 
cept  the  last,  discovery  would  have  been  inevitable  ruin, 
Early  resolved  to  attempt,  by  a  nocturnal  movement,  to 
turn  the  left  flank  of  the  Union   army.     To   do  this,  it 
was  necessary  to  descend  into  the  gorge  at  the  base'  of 
the  Massanutten  mountain,  cross  the  north  fork  of  the 
Shenandoah,  which  was  then  fordable,  and  for  miles  to 
skirt   Crook's  position  (the  Army  of  Western  Virginia), 
passing,  at  some  points,  within  four  hundred  yards  of  his 
pickets.     Three   days  previous  a  brigade  of  Union  cav 
alry  had   held   the    road   along   which  the    rebels  now 
passed,  and  would  have  rendered  such  an  enterprise  im 
possible,   but  by  some   strange   oversight  it  had    been 
withdrawn.     But  even  without  this,  the  hazards  which 
Early   ran   might   well  have   been  sufficient  to  deter  a 
bold    man.     At  almost  any  point  of  his  march,  had  he 
been   discovered  (and  once  he  was  on  the  very  veree  of 
discovery),  his  army  would  have  been  cut  in  two  by  the 
Union  infantry,  and  the  cavalry  would  have  prevented  his 
retreat  to  Fisher's  Hill,  when  he  would  have  inevitably 
loat  half  his  force,  and  the  Union  loss  would  have  b<-en 
trifling. 


GENERAL    SHF.RIDAN. 

His  management  of  his  advance  was  admirable :  his 
canteens  had  been  left  behind  in  camp,  lest  they  should 
betray  the  movement  by  their  clatter  against  the  shanks 
of  the"  bayonets,  and  every  precaution  was  taken  to  move 
with  the  utmost  stillness  and  quiet.     At  dawn  they  were 
lying  formed  for  battle,  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the 
Union  camps,  enveloping  completely  Crook's  flank.     Just 
at  break  of  day,  with  the  well-known  rebel  battle-yell, 
and  a  sudden  and  terrific  rattle  of  musketry,  they  flung 
themselves  on  the  camp  of  the  Army  of  Western  Vir 
ginia,  and  within   fifteen  minutes  that  body  of  veteran 
troops,  surprised,  broken,  and  panic-stricken,  were  hurry- 
ino-  back,  a  mass  of  fugitives,  upon  the  centre,  where  the 
Nineteenth    corps,    forewarned,    had    sprung    into    the 
trenches,  but  found  themselves  almost  immediately  at 
tacked  in  flank  and  rear,  while  the  rebel  General  Gordon 
had  seized  a  position  which  completely  commapded  their 
camp.     Early  had  sent  his  cavalry  and  light  artillery  to 
the  rio-ht,  to  menaee  the  Sixth  corps  (or,  as  he  supposed, 
the  Nineteenth);  and  this  corps  now  occupied  with  that 
force,  whose  strength,  at  that  early  hour,  could  not  be 
ascertained,  could  not  come  to  the  help  of  the  imperilled 
Nineteenth.     For  an  hour  and  more  of  desperate   de 
termined  fighting  that  corps  held  its  position ;  but  Gor- 
don's  men  reaching  onward  along  and  beyond  its  flank, 
turned  it,  and  fell  upon  its  rear,  and  in  its  turn,  it  was 
compelled  to  abandon  its  position,  and  retreat  towards 
Winchester,  or  rather  towards  Middletown,  on  the  Wir 
Chester  road. 

The  Sixth  corps  had  by  this  time  found  what  was 
force  in  its  front,  and  had  turned  them  over  to  Torbert's 
cavalry,  who  were  amply  sufficient  to  take  care  of  them, 
while  it  came  up  to  the  support  of  the  Nineteenth  corps; 
but  it,  too,  was  flanked  in  its  turn,  and  though  it  moved 


240 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


slowly  and  in  good  order,  was  compelled  to  retreat  to  a 
position  where  it  could  fight  to  better  advantage.  The 
train  had  been,  by  skilful  management,  removed  out  of 
harm's  way,  and  was  well  on  the  road  to  Winchester,  but 
the  army  had  been  driven  off  the  pike,  and  it  was  neces 
sary  to  fall  back  until  it  could  again  obtain  a  position 
upon  it,  and  thus  secure  its  communications. 

Five  hours  had  passed  since  the  first  attack,  and  the 
Army  of  the  Shenandoah  was,    for  the  first  time,    de 
feated  ;    not  routed,  but  badly  beaten.       Their  camps 
were  in  the  possession   of  the   enemy,  and  their  fortified 
positions;  they    had  lost  twenty-four  guns  and  twelve 
hundred  prisoners,  and  they  had  retreated    full   three 
miles,  and  their  stragglers  a  dozen  or  more.      It  was 
about  ten   o'clock  when    Sheridan    came    up    the   pike 
at  full  speed,  his  noble  horse  completely  flecked  with 
foam,  swinging  his  cap  and  shouting  to  the  stragglers, 
"  Face  the  other  way,  boys.     We  are  going  back  to  our 
camps.     We  are  going  to  lick  them  out  of  their  boots." 
The  effect  was  magical.      The  wounded  by  the  roadside 
raised  their  voices  to  shout ;  the  fugitives,  but  now  hur 
rying  forward   to  Winchester,  turned  about  at  sight  of 
him  who  had  always  led  them  to  victory,  and  followed  him 
back  to  the  battle-ground  as  hounds  follow  their  master. 
Still  riding  rapidly,  he  reached  the  main  army,  ordered 
it  to  face   about,  form  line,  and  advance  to  the  position 
it  had  last  quitted.     They  obeyed  without  hesitation, 
and  for  two  hours  he,  rode  along  the  lines,   studying  the 
ground  and  encouraging  the  men.      "  Boys,"  he  said,  in 
his  earnest  animated  way,  "if I  had  been  here  this  never 
should  have  happened.     I  tell  you  it  never  should  have 
happened.     And  now  we  are  going  back  to  our  camps. 
We  are  going  to  get  a  twist  on  them — we  are  going  to 
lick  them  out  of  their  boots !"     For  two  hours  more 


GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 


241 


there   was   silence,   but  rapid  preparation.     The  Sixth 
corps  held  the  turnpike  and   its  vicinity.      The  Nine 
teenth  was  formed  on  its  right,  in  double  line,  under 
cover  of  a  dense  wood.     Rude  temporary  breastworks 
were  thrown  up  in  an  incredibly  short    time,  and  the 
old  animation  and  valor  pervaded  every  heart, 
panic  was  over.     Then  came  a  message  from  Sheridan 
to  Emory  (commanding  the  Nineteenth  corps),  that  the 
enemy  were  advancing  against  them  in  column.      They 
came,  and  were  received  with   so  deadly  a  fire  of  artil 
lery  and  musketry  that  they  awaited  no  second  fire,  but 
fell  back  at  once  out  of  sight,  and  Emory  sent  word  to 
the  commanding  general  that  the  attack  had  been  re 
pulsed.     Sheridan's  delight  at  this  was  evident.    «  That's 
good,  that's  good,"  he  said  eagerly.     He  then  sent  word 
to  Emory  that,  if  they  renewed  the  attack,  he  must  meet 
them  by  a  counter-attack,  drive  them  back,  and  follow 
them  up.     At  half-past  three,  orders  came  for  the  entire 
line  to  advance,  the  Nineteenth  corps  to  move  in  connec 
tion  with  the  Sixth,  and  the  right  of  the  Nineteenth  to 
swing  towards  the  left,  so  as  to  drive  the  enemy  upon  the 
pike.°   The  enemy's  left  was  now  his  strong  position, 
being  supported  by  successive  wooded  crests,  while  his 
right  ran  out  to  the  pike,  across  undulating  open  fields, 
which   offered  no  natural  line  of  resistance.     Sheridan's 
plan  was  to  push  them  off  these  crests  by  this  swinging 
movement  of  his  right,  and  then,  as  they  were  doubled 
up  on  the  turnpike,  hurl  his  cavalry  upon  them  across  the 
Middletown  meadows.     Like  most  of  his  plans,  it  was  en 
tirely  successful ;  the  crests  were  carried  by  a  charge  of 
infantry,  and  Gordon's  division,  which  during  the  morn- 
incr  had  so  perseveringly  flanked  the  Army  of  the  Shen- 
andoah,  was  itself  flanked  in   turn  by  the  Nineteenth 
corps,  and  broke  in  confusion. 

21 


242  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

The  fighting  which  followed  was  desperate,  and  the 
rebels  held  their  position  with  great  tenacity  ;  while  the 
Union  soldiers,  who  had  neither  eaten  nor  drank  any 
thing  since  the  previous  day,  and  had  been  fighting  since 
five  in  the  morning,  were  greatly  exhausted  ;  but  they 
forgot  their  hunger,  their  thirst,  and  their  weariness — 
forgot  every  thing  but  that  they  were  Sheridan's  sol 
diers,  and  that  they  must  drive  the  enemy  back.  Again 
they  charged  on  the  rebel  second  line,  over  stone  walls, 
over  steep  hill-sides,  and  through  thickets ;  Sheridan  him 
self  dashing  along  the  front,  cheering  them  with  his  con 
fident  smile  and  his  assurances  of  success,  and  giving  his 
orders  in  person  to  brigade,  division,  and  corps  com 
manders.  The  result  could  not  be  doubtful ;  the  second 
charge  carried  the  enemy's  second  line  with  the  same 
rush  and  with  greater  ease  than  the  first,  and  the  cavalry 
swept  on  in  magnificent  line  and  pushed  the  routed  foe 
into  more  hopeless  confusion  and  speedier  flight  than  in 
the  battle  of  the  19th  of  September.  Desperate  were 
the  efforts  of  the  rebel  officers  to  rally  their  men  and 
make  another  stand  ;  but  they  were  utterly  in  vain,  and 
Early's  army  was  again  "  sent  whirling"  up  the  valley. 
The  fighting  soon  swept  far  ahead  of  the  tired  infantry, 
who  resumed  their  position  in  their  old  camps ;  while  the 
cavalry  pushed  Early's  jaded  legions  on  and  still  on 
through  Strasburg,  past  Fisher's  Hill,  till  they  reached 
Woodstock,  sixteen  miles  distant.  The  rebels  aban 
doned  every  thing  in  their  flight — cannon,  small- 
arms,  knapsacks,  great-coats,  baggage-wagons,  caissons, 
ammunition-wagons,  and  ambulances.  The  twenty-four 
cannon  captured  from  the  Union  troops  in  the  morning 
were  retaken,  and  besides  them  twenty-five  more  of 
Early's  own.  Besides  these,  there  were  fifty  wagons, 
sixty -five  ambulances,  sixteen  hundred  small-arms,  several 


GENERAL    SHERIDAN.  243 


battle-flags,  fifteen  hundred  prisoners,  and  two  thousand 
killed  and  wounded  left  upon  the  field.    The  Union  losses 
during  the  day  had  been  heavy,  especially  in  the  morning, 
being  in  all  about  thirty-eight  hundred,  of  whom  eight 
hundred  were  prisoners.     From  this  last  and  stunning 
defeat,  Early's  army  never  recovered.     In  all  the  records 
of  modern  history  there  are  but  three  examples  of  such  a 
battle,  lost  and  won  on  the  same  field,  and  in  the  same 
conflict-Marengo,  Shiloh,  and  Stone  river;  and  in  the 
two  former  the  retrieval  was  due  mainly  to  reinforce 
ments  brought  up  at  the  critical  time,  while  the  third 
was   not  so  immediately  decisive;  but  here,  as  is  well 
remarked  by  Captain  De  Forest  (to  whose  graphic  and 
eloquent  description  of  the  battle  in  «  Harper's  Magazine" 
we  acknowledge  our  indebtedness),  "  the  only  reinforce 
ment  which  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah  received  or 
needed  to  recover  its  lost  field  of  battle,  camps,  intrench- 
ments,  and  cannon  was  one  man— SHERIDAN." 

Lieutenant-General  Grant's  opinion  of  this  remarkable 
battle  may  be  gathered  from  the  dispatch  sent  by  him  to 
Secretary  Stanton,  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  of  Octet 
It  was  as  follows : 

HON.  E.  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War : 

I  had  a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns  fired  from  each  of 
the  armies  here,  in  honor  of  Sheridan's  last  victory. 
Turning  what  bid  fair  to  be  a  disaster  into  a  glorious 
victory,  stamps  Sheridan,  what  I  have  always  thought 
him,  one  of  the  ablest  of  generals. 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 

General  Sheridan  also  received  an  autograph  letter  of 
thanks  from  the  President,  and  on  the  14th  of  Novem 
ber  a  general  order,  announcing  General  McClellan's 


244  OUR   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

resignation  as  major-general  in  the  regular  army,  ap 
pointed  General  Sheridan  to  the  same  rank,  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  to  date  from  the  8th  of  November,  as  an  ac 
knowledgment  of  his  ability  and  generalship  in  the  cam 
paign  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  especially  in 
the  battle  of  the  19th  of  October. 

For  six  weeks  after  this  battle  there  were  occasional 
skirmishes  of  greater  of  less  severity,  between  Torbert's 
cavalry  or  some  portions  of  it,  and  the  rebel  cavalry  offi 
cers  Rosser  and  Lomax;  but  Early,  though  moving  un 
easily  up  and  down  the  valley  from  Mount  Jackson  or 
New  Market  to  Fisher's  Hill,  carefully  avoided  any  thing 
like  a  general  engagement,  and  in  December  sent  a  part 
of  his  forces  to  strengthen  General  Lee.  Meantime  the 
guerrilla  warfare  continued  with  all  its  vexatious  annoy 
ances  and  stealthy  murders,  and  General  Sheridan  found 
it  necessary  to  desolate  the  valley  of  the  Blue  Ridge  by 
his  cavalry,  as  he  had  done  the  valleys  west  of  it.  In 
two  expeditions  undertaken  for  this  purpose,  property  to 
the  amount  of  nearly  seven  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars 
was  either  captured  or  destroyed ;  vast  herds  of  cattle, 
sheep,  and  swine,  and  large  numbers  of  horses  and  mules 
brought  in.  Driven  from  the  region,  the  guerrilla  bands 
have  since  concentrated  near  the  upper  Potomac,  and  at 
Piedmont,  New  Creek,  and  other  points,  have  done 
some  mischief;  but  their  power  has  been  greatly  crippled 
N  by  the  stern  and  thorough  measures  adopted  by  General 
Sheridan.  In  December  the  Sixth  corps  was  returned  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac;  and  the  Army  of  the  Shen 
andoah  for  nearly  two  months  acted  principally  as  an 
army  of  observation.  About  the  first  of  March,  General 
Sheridan  moved  with  his  magnificent  cavalry  force  up 
the  valley  towards  Staunton ;  and  after  the  capture  of 
that  town  moved  forward  to  Fisherville  and  Waynes- 


GENERAL    BHEBIDAN.  245 

boro,  and  near  the  latter  place  attacked  and  defeated 
Early,  capturing  twelve  hundred  and  fifty-two  prisoners 
(including  eighty-seven  officers),  five  cannon,  or*e  hun 
dred  wagons,  over  one  hundred  horses  and  mules,  &c., 
&c.  Early  himself  escaped  with  difficulty,  some  of  his 
staff-officers  and  his  personal  baggage  being  captured. 
Lie  was  pursued  as  far  as  Greenwood  Station,  where 
more  cannon,  and  ordnance,  and  commissary  supplies 
were  captured.  Sheridan  next  entered  Charlottesville, 
where  he  remained  two  days  bringing  up  his  trains,  and 
dispatched  from  thence  his  First  division  to  destroy  the 
James  River  canal,  at  Scottsville,  and  thence  to  Du- 
guidsville,  fifteen  miles  below,  which  they  accomplished. 
The  Third  division  were  sent  at  the  same  time  to  burn 
the  bridges  and  tear  up  the  railroad  track  on  the  Lynch- 
burg  railroad.  He  himself  moved  to  Columbia  on  the 
James  river,  destroying  the  canal  and  its  locks  all  the 
way  ;  and  turning  thence  to  the  Virginia  Central  railroad, 
broke  up  its  track  thoroughly  for  fifteen  miles,  and  de 
stroyed  all  bridges  over  the  James  and  its  tributaries. 
On  the  18th  he  reached  the  north  bank  of  the  Pamunkey 
near  White  House,  where  he  remained  for  a  short  time 
with  his  troops.  He  desolated  the  country  through 
which  he  passed  completely,  and  destroyed  property 
which  the  rebels  themselves  estimated  at  fifty  millions  of 
dollars.  The  destruction  of  the  James  River  canal  and 
the  Lynchburg  railroad  were  terrible  blows  to  Lee's 
army  at  Richmond,  as  by  far  the  greater  part  of  their 
supplies  were  brought  in  by  these  routes. 
-  On  the  25th  of  March,  Sheridan's  army  moved  from 
White  House  across  the  James  river,  at  Wilcox's  land 
ing,  reaching  their  destination  at  night.  After  two  days 
spent  in  recruiting  and  preparing  for ,  another  campaign, 
General  Sheridan  was  ordered  to  move,  on  the  29th, 
21* 


246  OUE.    GKEAT   CAPTAINS. 

with  his  cavalry,  via  Reams'  Station,  to  Dinwiddie 
Court-house,  and  from  thence  either  strike  at  Burkesville 
Junction,  or,  if  it  should  seem  best,  support  the  infantry, 
one  or  two  corps  of  which  would  in  that  case  be  put  un 
der  his  command — the  Fifth  corps  down  the  Halifax 
road,  and  the  Second  down  the  Vaughan  road,  to  cross 
Hatcher's  Run  at  the  point  which  had  been  held  since 
the  movement  in  February.  The  Sixth  and  Ninth  corps 
were  moved  westward  to  connect  with  the  new  line  thus 
to  be  formed,  and  parties  of  the  Twenty-fourth  and 
Twenty-fifth  corps  were  brought  from  the  Army  of 
the  James  to  aid  in  strengthening  the  lines.  It 
was  deemed  best  by  Lieutenant-General  Grant  that 
Sheridan  should,  under  the  circumstances,  support  di 
rectly  the  infantry  attack ;  and  accordingly,  on  Thurs 
day,  March  30,  he  connected  his  right,  near  Dinwiddie, 
with  the  left  of  the  Fifth  corps,  on  the  Boydton  road. 
The  enemy  was  found  to  be  strongly  intrenched  at  Five 
Forks,  an  important  position  about  six  miles  west  of  the 
crossing  of  the  Boydton  plank-road,  over  Hatcher's  Run. 
They  also  held  in  some  force  the  White  Oak  road, 
by  which  the  Five  Forks  were  approached  from  the 
east. 

On  the  31st  of  March,  the  Fifth  corps,  or  rather  Craw 
ford's  and  Ay  res'  divisions  of  it,  attempting  to  advance 
on  this  road,  were  driven  back  in  disorder  by  the  sudden 
and  overwhelming  attack  of  the  rebels,  and  did  not  rally 
till  they  reached  Griffin's  division  of  that  corps  on  the 
Boydton  road.  Here,  Miles'  division  of  the  Second 
corps  having  attacked  the  enemy  in  flank,  drove  them 
back ;  and  the  Fifth  corps,  Griffin  leading,  having  ral 
lied,  advanced,  and  at  sunset  occupied  nearly  the  same 
position  as  in  the  morning. 

But  this  retreat  had  opened  the  way  for  the  rebels  to 


GENERAL    SHERIDAN. 


24:7 


throw  themselves  with  great  fury  upon  Sheridan's  caval 
ry  lying  west  of  Dinwiddie  ;  and  at  one  time  they  had 
nearly  cut  off  Merritt's  command,  and  imperilled  the 
entire  cavalry  force.  General  Sheridan,  commanding 
in  person,  succeeded  in  checking  the  enemy's  advance ; 
and,  having  dismounted  his  cavalry  in  front  of  Dinwiddie 
Court-house,  he  fought  a  desperate  battle  with  them, 
lasting  till  late  in  the  evening;  and  the  enemy,  unable  to 
drive  his  troops,  whom  they  greatly  outnumbered,  finally 
lay  down  sullenly  upon  their  arms,  apparently  determined 
to  fight  it  out  the  next  day.  » 


Lieutenant-General  Grant  had  ordered  General  War 
ren,  commanding  the  Fifth  corps,  to  report  to  General 
Sheridan ;  and  on  the  evening  of  this  battle  sent  a  dis 
patch  to  Sheridan,  saying  that  Warren  would  report  to 
him  about  midnight.  As  he  did  not  appear,  General 


24:8  OUB   GBEAT   CAPTAINS. 

Sheridan,  at  3  A.M.,  April   1st,  sent  a  messenger  with  a 
note  asking  him  to  attack  the  enemy  in  rear  at  daylight, 
and  he  would   attack  them  in  front.     He  believed  that 
by  this  means  they  might  capture  the  whole  force  in  his 
front.     General  Warren  did  not  make  his  appearance  ; 
but  General  Sheridan  attacking  boldly,  the  rebels  were 
driven  in  confusion  across  Chamberlain's  Run,  and  Sher 
idan   pursued,    determined    to    carry   their   stronghold. 
About  8   A.M.  he  met  Warren's  advance   near  J.  Bois- 
seau's  house,  four  or  five  miles  north  of  Dinwiddie,  and 
directed  them  to  hold  fast  in  their  position,  and  be  ready 
to  move  to  the  front  when  required.     He  himself  passed 
on  with  his  cavalry,  and  surrounded  the  rebel  intrench- 
ments  on  the  south,  southwest,  arid  west ;  and  in  the 
afternoon  ordered  up  the  Fifth  corps   to  attack  from  the 
east.     They  moved  very  slowly,  and  it  seemed   to  Gen 
eral   Sheridan  that  General  Warren  was  not  desirous  of 
bringing  them  into  the  fight;  and  when  at  last  they  were 
formed,  that  he  did  not  seek  to  inspire  his  men  with  con 
fidence  in  their  ability  to  succeed.     The  movement  was, 
nevertheless,  successful,   the  rebels   being  driven    from 
their  strong  position,  routed,  their  left  flank  doubled  up 
in  confusion  by  the  attack  of  the  Fifth  corps  ;  while  Mer- 
ritt's  cavalry,  dashing  on  to  the  White  Oak  road,  cap 
turing  their  artillery  and  turning  it  upon  them,  and  rid 
ing  into  their  broken  ranks,  so  demoralized   them  that 
they  made  no  serious  stand  after  their  line  was  broken, 
and  Sheridan  captured  between  5,000  and  6,000  prison 
ers.     At  the  close  of  the  day's  fighting,  General  Sheridan 
relieved  General  Warren  of  command,  and  put  General 
Griffin  in  command  of  the  corps. 

Having  disposed  his  forces  so  as  to  hold  the  White 
Oak  road,  General  Sheridan,  on  the  morning  of  April 
2d,  ordered  Miles'  division  of  the  Second  corps,  which 


GENERAL    SHEKIDAN. 


24:9 


had  also  been  directed  to  report  to  him,  to  move  up  the 
White  Oak  road  towards  Petersburg,  and  attack  the 
enemy  at  the  intersection  of  that  with  the  Claiborne 
road,  where  they  were  massed  in  considerable  force,  and 
he  himself  followed  with  two  divisions  of  the  Fifth  corps. 
Miles  was  successful,  and  drove  the  enemy  towards 
Sutherland's  Depot,  and  was  about  to  attack  him  there, 
when,  at  General  Meade's  instance,  General  Humphreys, 
of  the  Second  corps,  again  assumed  command  of  Miles' 
division.  General  Sheridan  then,  taking  his  two  divi 
sions  of  the  Fifth  corps,  returned  to  Five  Forks,  and 
marched  out  the  Ford  road  towards  Hatcher's  Run, 
with  a  view  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat,  the  cavalry 
having  been  already  dispatched  to  cross  Hatcher's  Run, 
and  break  up  the  rebel  cavalry. 

This  movement  proved  successful.  The  Fifth  corps 
reached  the  Southside  Railroad  at  Ford's  Depot,  and 
marched  rapidly  eastward  towards  Sutherland's,  in 
flank  and  rear  of  the  enemy,  who  confronted  Miles. 
Finding  themselves  thus  attacked,  the  rebels  fled  north 
ward,  and  escaped  along  the  main  road  by  the  Appomat- 
tox  River,  pursued  by  Sheridan's  troops,  who  succeeded 
in  engaging  them  slightly  about  dusk. 

During  that  night  Petersburg  and  Richmond  were 
evacuated,  and  the  next  morning  the  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  rebels  was  taken  up  in  earnest  by  both  cavalry 
and  infantry.  At  Deep  Creek  they  made  a  stand,  and  a 
severe  fight  took  place,  ending  in  the  rout  of  the  rebels 
and  the  capture  of  large  numbers  of  prisoners,  five  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  many  wagons. 

Encamping  on  the  night  of  the  3d  at  Deep  Creek, 
General  Sheridan  pressed  forward  in  pursuit  to  Jeters- 
ville,  having  sent  his  division  of  cavalry  to  strike  the 
Danville  Railroad,  between  Burkesville  and  Jetersville. 


250  OUK    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

Here  he  ascertained  that  Lee,  with  his  entire  army,  was 
at  Amelia  Court-house,  and  ordered  the  Fifth  corps  at 
once  to  intrench  till  the  main  army  could  come  up. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  April,  Davies'  cavalry 
brigade,  making  a  reconnoissance,  captured  a  train  of 
180  wagons,  with  five  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  large 
number  of  prisoners.  Some  heavy  fighting  ensued,  but 
the  rebels  were  finally  repulsed. 

The  Second  corps  having  come  up,  and  the  Fifth  corps 
being  returned  to  General  Meade's  command,  at  his  re 
quest,  General  Sheridan,  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
April,  sent  his  cavalry  towards  Deatonsville  to  ascertain 
Lee's  exact  position,  and  attack  him  if  he  was  attempt 
ing  to  escape.  The  cavalry  officer  found  Lee  attempting 
to  escape  by  way  of  Farmville,  and  attacked  at  once, 
capturing  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery,  400  wagons,  and  a 
large  number  of  prisoners,  and  cutting  off  three  divisions 
of  the  enemy's  infantry  from  their  line  of  retreat.  The 
infantry  (the  Sixth  corps  were  coming  up  with  orders  to 
report  to  Sheridan)  could  not  reach  the  ground  in  sea 
son,  and  the  rebels  fought  with  the  energy  of  despair. 
Two  divisions  of  the  Sixth  corps  (Wheaton's  and  Sey 
mour's)  finally  reached  the  ground,  and  with  a  part  of 
the  Second  corps  soon  began  to  drive  the  enemy,  who 
had  previously  broken  a  part  of  the  line  of  the  cavalry. 
They  were  driven  as  far  as  Sailor's  Creek. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the  cavalry  pressed  on  to 
Farmville,  and  there  again  encountered  the  enemy,  who 
fought  desperately,  and  being  driven  over  the  Appomat- 
tox,  made  a  stand  there,  and  fought  again,  but  without 
decisive  result.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  Genera) 
Sheridan  ascertained  that  a  large  railroad  train,  ladec 
with  supplies  for  the  rebels,  was  at  Appomattox  Station, 
and  that  General  Lee  was  hastening  thither  with  his 


GENERAL    SHEKIDAN, 


251 


troops,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  means  of  reaching 
Lynchburg.  By  making  a  forced  march  with  his  caval 
ry,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  Appomattox,  and  capturing 
and  sending  eastward  the  train  just  as  the  rebel  army 
came  up ;  and  then  dashing  upon  the  famished  rebel  sol 
diers,  drove  them  back  to  Appomattox  Court-house,  cap 
turing  many  prisoners,  twenty-five  pieces  of  artillery,  a 
hospital-train,  and  a  park  of  wagons.  He  then  notified 
the  lieutenant-general  that  the  enemy  had  reached  the 
last  ditch,  and  urged  that  the  infantry  should  be  brought 
up  with  all  speed.  The  next  morning  Lee  surrendered 

his  army. 

After  the  surrender,  Sheridan  returned  with  his  caval 
ry  to  Richmond  and  Washington,  and  was  ordered  at 
once  to  Texas  with  a  large  force,  to  bring  the  rebel  Gen 
eral  E.  Kirby  Smith  to  terms.  Smith  surrendered, 
however,  about  the  time  of  his  arrival ;  and  on  the  27th 
of  June,  1865,  General  Sheridan  was  appointed  com 
mander  of  the  military  division  of  the  Gulf,  embracing 
the  departments  of  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and 

Texas. 

In  person,  Major-General  Sheridan  is  small,  about  five 
feet  five  inches  in  height,  of  dark  complexion  and  hair, 
with  a  piercing  blue  eye,  and  an  energetic,  determined 
face.  In  private  life  he  is  social  and  genial,  with  a  ready 
command  of  language.  His  manner  is  fascinating,  and 
wins  for  him  at  once  the  love  and  confidence  of  his  sub 
ordinates.  He  is,  with  all  his  dashing  qualities,  calm, 
cool,  cautious,  fertile  in  resources,  careful  of  his  men, 
and  thoroughly  self-possessed  at  all  times.  No  officer  in 
the  army  can  rouse  his  troops  to  so  high  a  pitch  of  en 
thusiasm,  or  hold  them  there  so  firmly,  as  "  Little  Phil 
Sheridan." 


or  THF 

UNIVERSITY 

or 


V. 
Vice-Admiral  David  Glascoe  Farragut 

HEROES  have  not  been  wanting  in  the  history  of  mar 
itime  warfare,  at  any  time  in  these  last  three  hundred 
years.     Holland  points,  with  pride,  to  her  gallant  De 
Ruyter  and  Van  Tromp,  who  made  the  little  republic 
among  the  marshes  and  canals  that  yield  tribute  to  the 
Zuyder  Zee,  famous  the  world  over.     England  glories  in 
her  Blake,  her  Collingwood,  and  most  of  all,  in  her  *el 
son   the  model  naval  hero  of  all  her  history;   and  we 
cannot   suppress   our  admiration  of  the  daring  of   the 
reckless  John  Paul  Jones,  the  matchless  patriotism  of 
Lawrence,  and  the  gallant  bearing  and  extraordinary  suc 
cess  of  Perry,  Bainbridge,  Decatur,  and  the  elder  Porter, 
while   in   the   present  war  the   heroic  Foote,  Dupont, 
Winslow,  D.  D.  Porter,  and  Rogers  have  covered  then 
names  with  glory. 

But  among  all  these  illustrious  names  there  is  n 
which  so  thoroughly  awakens  our  enthusiasm,  or  so 
readily  calls  forth  our  applause,  as  that  of  our  illustrious 
Vice- Admiral.  With  all  of  Nelson's  courage  and  dar 
ing  he  has  more  than  his  executive  ability  and  fertility  of 
resource,  a  wider,  and  more  generous  intellectual  culture, 
and  a  more  unblemished,  naive,  frank,  and  gentle 

He  bears  in  his  veins  some  traces  of  the  best  blood  of 
Spain,  his  father,  George  Farragut,  having  been  a  native 
of  Citadella,  the  capital  of  the  island  of  Minorca,  and  a 
descendant  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  Catalonian  fam- 


254 


CUE   GREAT   CAPTAINS. 


ily.  The  father  came  to  this  country  in  1776,  and  united 
most  heartily  in  our  struggle  for  independence,  attaining 
during  the  war  the  rank  of  major.  After  the  conclusion 
of  the  war,  Major  Farragut  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Shine,  of  North  Carolina,  a  descendant  of  the  old  Scotch 
family  of  Mclven,  and  settled  as  a  farmer  at  Campbell's 
station,  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  Here,  on  the  5th  of 
July,  1801,  his  illustrious  son  was  born.  The  father 
seems  to  have  been  not  altogether  contented  with  a 
farmer's  life  in  that  mountainous  region,  for  not  long 
after,  we  hear  of  him  as  a  sailing-master  in  the  navy, 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  father  of  Commodore 
David  D.  Porter,  wk>  then  held  a  similar  rank.  Young 
Farragut  inherited  his  father's  love  for  the  sea,  and 
though  brought  up  so  far-  inland,  among  the  Cumberland 
Mountains,  he  had  hardly  reached  the  age  of  nine  and 
a  half  years,  when  the  longing  for  a  sailor's  life  possessed 
him  so  strongly,  that  his  father  consented  ;  and  after 
some  little  delay,  a  midshipman's  warrant  was  procured 
for  him. 

His  first  cruise  was  under  the  command  of  Captain 
(then  master-commandant)  Porter,  who,  in  July,  1812, 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  soon  after 
sailed  in  the  Essex  for  the  South  American  coast  and  the 
Pacific.  To  this  famous  frigate  the  young  midshipman 
was  ordered,  before  her  departure,  and  he  remained  on 
her  through  the  eventful  two  years  that  followed,  when 
she  drove  the  British  commerce  out  of  the  Pacific.  When, 
on  the  28th  of  March,  1814,  the  British  frigate  Phcebe, 
36  guns,  and  sloop-of-war  Cherub,  28  guns,  without  scru 
pie  attacked  the  Essex  in  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso,  in 
violation  of  the  rights  of  a  neutral  nation  (a  precedent 
which  the  British  government  seem  to  have  forgotten  of 
late),  there  ensued  one  of  the  fiercest  naval  battles  on 


VICE-ADMIRAL  FAKRAGUT.  255 


record.     Though  fighting  against  hopeless  odds,  the  two 
British  vessels  having  twice  the  number  of  guns  and  men 
of  the  Essex,  Commodore  Porter,  with  the  reckless  dar 
ing  which  was  so  marked  a  trait  of  his  character,  refused 
to  strike  his  colors  till  his  ship  had  been  three  or  four 
times  on  fire,  and  was  in  a  sinking  condition,  with  her 
riggino-  shot  away,  the  .flames  threatening  her  magazine, 
and  152,   out  of  her  crew  of  255,  killed,  wounded,  or 
missing.     The  battle  had  lasted  two  and  a  half  hours. 
On  his  surrender,  the  Essex  Junior,  a  whaling-ship  which 
he  had  converted  into  a  sloop-of-war,  but  which  had  been 
unable  to  take  any  part  in  the  battle,  was  sent  home  with 
the  prisoners  on  parole.     The  young  midshipman,  then 
a  boy  under  thirteen,  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight,  and 
was  slightly  wounded  during  the  action.     Before  the  loss 
of  the  Essex,  he  had  served  as  acting-lieutenant  on  board 
the  Atlantic,  an  armed  prize. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  Commodore  Por- 
ter  placed  him  at  school  at  Chester,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
taught,  among  other  studies,  the  elements  of  military 
and  naval  tactics;  but  in  1816  he  was  again  afloat  and 
on  board  the  flag-ship  of  the  Mediterranean  squadron, 
where  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet,  in  the  chaplain, 
Rev.  Charles  Folsom,  an  instructor  to  whom  he  became 
ardently  attached,  and  to  whose  teachings  he  attributes 
much  of  his  subsequent  usefulness  and  success.     Mr.  *  ol- 
som  was  appointed  consul  at  Tunis,  not  long  after,  and 
thither  young  Farragut  accompanied  him.     In  a  letter 
recently  published,  Mr.  Folsom  speaks  thus  of  his  inter 
course  with  the  young  hero:  .  .  .  "All  needed  control 
was  that  of  an  elder  over  an  affectionate  younger  brother. 
He  was  now  introduced  to  entirely  new  scepes,  and  had 
social  advantages  which  compensated  for  his  former  too 
exclusive  sea-life.     He  had  found  a  home  on  shore,  and 


256 


OUR   GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


every  type  of  European  civilization  and  manners  in  the 
families  of  the  consuls  of  different  nations.  In  all  of 
them  my  young  countryman  was  the  delight  of  old  and 
young.  This  had  always  been  among  his  chief  moral 
dangers  ;  but  here  he  learned  to  be  proof  against  petting 
and  flattery.  Here,  too,  he  settled  his  definition  of  true 
glory— glory,  the  idol  of  his  profession— if  not  in  the 
exact  words  of  Cicero,  at  least  in  his  own  clear  thought. 
Our  familiar  walks  and  rides  were  so  many  lessons  in 
ancient  history,  and  the  lover  of  historic  parallels  will  be 
gratified  to  know  that  we  possibly  sometimes  stood  on 
the  very  spot  where  the  boy  Hannibal  took  the  oath  that 
consecrated  him  to  the  defence  of  his  country." 

This  pleasant  period  of  instruction  passed  all  too  quick 
ly,  and  the  boy,  now  grown  to  man's  estate,  after  some 
further  service  in  the  Mediterranean,  was,  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1821,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  and  a  half  years, 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and  ordered  to  duty 
on  the  West  India  station.  In  1824  he  was  assigned  to 
duty  at  the  Norfolk  navy-yard  ;  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  two  years'  cruise  in  the  Yandalia,  on  the  Brazil  sta 
tion,  remained  at  Norfolk  till  1833.  Here  he  married  a 
lady  of  highly  respectable  family,  and  during  the  long 
years  of  suffering  through  which  she  was  called  to  pass, 
from  a  hopeless  physical  malady,  he  proved  one  of  the 
most  tender  and  affectionate  of  husbands,  never  weary 
ing  of  administering  all  the  relief  and  comfort  to  the  suf 
ferer  in  his  power.  When  death  at  last  terminated  her 
protracted  distress,  he  mourned  her  tenderly  and  long. 
He  subsequently  married  another  lady  of  Norfolk,  Miss 
Virginia  Loyall,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  most  eminent 
citizens  of  that  city.  The  issue  of  this  marriage  is  a  son, 
now  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  who  bears  the  honorable 
name  of  LOYALL  FAKEAGUT.  That  he  may  do  honor  to 


VICE-ADMIRAL    FARRAGUT. 


such  a  name  arid  attain  in  another  field  to  a  reputation 
as  untarnished  and  a  distinction  as  lofty  as  his  lather's, 
must  be  the  wish  of  all  who  know  either  sire  or  son.  - 

In    1833    Lieutenant   Farragut  was  made  executive 
officer  (lieutenant-commander)  of  the  sloop  of  war  Nat 
chez  and  again  ordered  to  the  Brazilian  coast,  and  in 
1838  transferred  to  the  West  India  or  home  squadron 
In  1841  he  was  commissioned  as  commander,  and  ordered 
to  the  sloop-of-war  Decatur,  on  the  Brazil  squadron.     In 
1842  he  received  three  years'  leave  of  absence,  and  at  it 
expiration  was  again  ordered  to  the  Norfolk  navy-yard 
where  he  remained  till  1847,  when  he  took  command  of 
the  sloop-of-war  Saratoga,  of  the  home  squadron      In 
1850  he  was  again  assigned  to  duty  at  Norfolk,  where 
in  1851  he  was  appointed  assistant  inspector  of  ordnance. 
After  serving  in  this  capacity  for  three  years  he  was  sent 
to  California,  in  1854,  as  commander  of  the  Mare  Mane 
navy-yard      In  1855  he  was  commissioned  captain  ;  and 
from   1858   to   May,   I860,  he  was  in  command  of  the 
steam    sloop-of-war    Brooklyn,    in    the   home    squadron. 
Darin*  all  these  years  of  service,  Captain  Farragut  had 
been  a  diligent  student,  ever  seeking  the  opportunity  of 
increasing  his  professional  and  general  knowledge.  \\  uilc 
interior  to  no  officer  of  the  navy  in  his  acquaintance  with 
every  thing  appertaining  to  naval  science  or  warfare,  he 
is  superior  to  most  of  them  in  the  wide  range  of  his  gen 
eral  culture,  especially  in  the  languages.      He   speaks 
with  fluency  and   correctness  most  of  the  languages  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  Turkish  and  Arabic. 

In  1860  he  had  spent   nearly  nineteen  years  afloat,- 
eighteen   years  and  four  months  on  shore  duty,  and  ten 
vears  and  ten  months  either  waiting  orders  or  on  leave 
of  absence.     Forty-eight  of  his  fifty-eight  years  had 
spent  in  the  naval  service. 


258  OUR   GKEAT    CAPTAINS. 

In  April,  1861,  came  the  rebellion.     Captain  Farragut 
was  at  his  home  in  Norfolk,  surrounded  by  those  who 
were  sympathizers  with   the   rebellion,   and   who  were 
already  maturing  plans  for  the  seizure  of  the  government 
property,  and   its  conversion  to  rebel  uses.     No  more 
loyal  heart  ever  beat  than  his,  and  in  frank  and  manly 
terms  he  denounced  the  whole  proceedings  of  the  trai 
tors,  and  gave  expression  to  his  abhorrence   of  them. 
This  roused  all  the  demoniac  hatred  of  the  plotters  of 
treason,  and  they  told  him  at  once,  in  tones  of  menace, 
that  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  live  there,  if  he  held 
such  sentiments.     "Very  well,"  was  his  prompt  reply, 
"  then  I  will  go  where  I  can  live  and  hold  such  senti 
ments."     Returning  to  his  home,  he  informed  his  family 
that  they  must  leave  Norfolk  for  New  York  in  a  few 
hours.     They  immediately  made  their  preparations,  and 
the  next  morning,  April  18,  1861.  bid  adieu  to  Norfolk. 
Arriving  at  Baltimore,  he  found  the  mob  in  possession  of 
the  city,  and  with  difficulty  secured  a  passage  by  steamer 
and  canal-boat  to  Columbia,  Pennsylvania,  from  which 
point  he  reached  New  York  with  his  family  by  railway. 
Securing  a  residence  for  his  family  at  Hastings,  on  the 
Hudson,  he  repaired  at  once  to  Washington  and  asked 
to  be    employed  in    the   service   of  his   country.     But 
though  fully  appreciating  his   loyalty  and  ability,  the 
government  had  no  ship  for  him   to    command.     The 
treachery  of  the  former  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  sent 
most  of  our  ships  to  distant  foreign  ports,  and  of  the 
very  few  that  were  left,  the  best  had  been  seized  or  de 
stroyed  at  Norfolk,  and  the  remainder,  to  which  they 
were  making  additions  as  rapidly  as  possible,  were  in 
command  of  his  seniors  in  the  service.     The  Navy  De 
partment  were,  however,  anxious  to  give  him  employ 
ment,  and  in  default  of  any  thing  else  he  served  for  a 


VICE-ADMIRAL    FABKAGUT.  259 


time  as  a  member  of  the  Naval  Retiring  Board   which 
shelved  the  incompetent  officers  of  the  navy,  and  prc 
moted  the  active,  loyal,  and  deserving. 

Meantime,  the  government  had  resolved  on  the  cap 
ture  of  New  Orleans,  and  entered  with  zeal  upon  the 
work  of  fitting  out  a  squadron,  as  well  as  an  army  for  ,t« 
reduction.  The  squadron  was  to  consist  of  a  fleel 
armed  steamers,  and  twenty  bomb-schooiiers  each  carry 
ing  gigantic  mortars,  throwing  fifteen-inch  shells. 

The   bomb-fleet    was   to   be   under  the  command   of 
Commander  David  D.  Porter,  but  he  was  to  report  to 
Flag-Officer  Farragut,  who  was  to. have  charge  of  the 
enure  squadron.     Selecting  the  Hartford  as  his  flag-ship, 
and  having  made  all  possible. preparations  for  his  expedi 
tion,  Flag-Officer  Farragut  received  his  orders  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1862,  and  on  the  ^  of  February  saied 
from  Hampton  Roads.     Arriving  at  Ship  Island  on    he 
20th  of  February,  he  organized  the  West  Gulf  Blockading 
Squadron,  and  in  spite  of  difficulties  of  all  sortS)-the  de 
lay  in  forwarding  coal,  naval  stores,  hospital  stores,  am 
munition,  etc.,  the  labor   of   getting   vessels    drawing 
twenty-two  feet  over  the  bars  at  Pass  L'Outre  and  Soutl 
west  Pass,  where  the  depth  was  but  twelve  and  fifteen 
feet  the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  some  of  the  office,  s, 
and  every  other  obstacle  he  had  to  encounter,-made 
steady    progress.      The   difficulties    were    not    all   sm- 
mounU  until  the  18th   of  April,  when  the  bombard 
ment  of  Fort  Jackson,  the  lowermost  of  the  two  forte 
defending  the    passage   of  'the  Mississippi,   was    com 
menced      These  forts  were    seventy-five  mile,  below 
New  Orleans  and  possessed  great  strength.    A  continu 
ous  bombardment  was  maintained  for  six  *9%*7W 
the  forts  were  considerably  damaged,  but  they  sUll  held 
out  stoutly.    A  heavy  iron  chain  had  been  stretched 


OUS    GREAT   CAPTAIN'S. 


across  the  river,  supported  by  large  logs,  to  obstruct  the 
passage  of  vessels,  and  was  placed  at  a  point  where  the 
fire  of  the  two  forts  could  be  most  effectively  concen 
trated.  Above  this  chain  lay  the  rebel  fleet  of  sixteen 
gunboats  and  two  iron-clad  rams.  Along  the  banks  of 
the  river  were  land  batteries,  mounting  several  guns 
each. 

Finding  that  the  forts  were  not  likely  to  yield  to  the 
bombardment,  Flag-Officer  Farragut  called  a  council  of 
war,  and  after  hearing  their  opinions,  which  were  some 
what  discordant,  issued  his  general  order  of  April  20th, 
in  which  the  spirit  of  the  hero  gleams  out.  This  was  his 
language  :  "  The  flag-officer  having  heard  all  the  opinions 
expressed  by  the  different  commanders,  is  of  the  opinion 
that  whatever  is  to  be  done  will  have  to  be  done  quickly. 
When,  in  the  opinion  of  the  flag-officer,  the  propitious 
time  has  arrived,  the  signal  will  be  made  to  weigh,  and 

advance  to  the  conflict He  will  make  the  signal 

for  close  action,  an d  abide  the  result — conquer,  or  be  con 
quered." 

After  farther  and  severe  bombardment  of  the  forts, 
the  flag-officer  gave  notice  to  the  steam-vessels  of  the 
squadron,  of  his  determination  to  break  the  chain  and 
run  past  the  forts,  engage  the  rebel  fleet,  and  having  de 
feated  it,  ascend  the  river  to  New  Orleans,  and  capture 
that  city.  It  was  a  most  daring  movement.  The  vessels 
of  the  squadron  would  be  exposed  to  the  concentrated 
fire  of  the  forts  until  the  chain  was  broken  and  they 
were  all  past  it ;  and  then  they  would  encounter  a  fleet 
nearly  equal  to  their  own  in  numbers,  and  two  of  its 
vessels  iron-clads,— at  that  time  an  unknown  power  in 
naval  warfare.  To  rush  on  such  dangers  as  these  seemed 
rash,  reckless,  almost  foolhardy.  But  the  flag-officer  had 
weighed  well  his  chances,  and  believing  that  cool  courage 


VICE-ADMIRAL   FARRAGTTT. 

and  prompt  action  were  the  principal  requisites  for  suc 
cess,  and  that  the  prize  to  be  won  justified  the  risk,  he 
gave  the  order  to  start  at  2  A.  M.,  April  24th,  and  mean 
time  visited  each  ship,  and  personally  superintended  the 
adoption  of  the  requisite  measures  for  the  preservation 
of  life  and  of  the  vessels,  and  gave  his  instructions  to  the 
officers  as  to  the  mode  of  the  attack.  The  different 
plans  adopted  for  protecting  the  ships  and  ^  machinery 
from  injury  were  ingenious  and  proved  effective. 

The  sheet-cables  were  stopped  up  and  down  on  the 
sides  in  the  line  of  the  engines,  thus  extemporizing  an 
iron  plating  over  this  most  vulnerable  portion  ;  and  ham 
mocks,  coal,  bags  of  ashes,  bags  of  sand,  Ac.,  were  placed 
in  such  a  way  as  to  protect  the  engines  from  shots  coming 
in  forward  or  abaft.  The  bulwarks  were  lined  either  with 
hammocks   or   splinter   nettings.     Some   of  the  vessels 
coated  their  sides  with  mud,  to  make  them  less  visible, 
and  some  whitewashed  their  decks,  that  objects  might 
be  more  visible  by  night.     The  signal  was  made  at  nve 
minutes  before  two,  A.  M.,  but,  some  of  the  vessels  having 
trouble  in  weighing  anchor,  the  fleet  did  not  get  under 
way  till  half-past  three,  A.  M.     The  chain  had  previously 
been  broken,  and  the  mortar-vessels  moved  up  and  an 
chored  ready  to  pour  in  their  fire  as  soon  as  the 
should  open.    The  steam-fleet  moved  up  in  two  columns, 
one  led  by  Flag-Officer  Farragut  in  person,  in  the  Hart 
ford  the  other  by  Captain  Theodoras  Bailey,  as  second 
in  command,  in  the  Cayuga.     The   left  column  (Farra- 
ffiit's)  was  composed  of  the  Hartford,  Brooklyn,  Rich 
mond,   Scipta,  Iroquois,  Kennebec,  Pinola,  Itasca,  and 
Winona;  the  right  (Bailey's)  of  the  Cayuga,  Pensacola, 
Mississippi,  Oneida,  Varuna,  Katahdin,  Kineo,  and  Wis- 
sahickon.     The  right  column  was  to  engage   tort  bt. 
Philip;  the  left,  Fort  Jackson.     The  fleet  were   fairly 


262  OUK    GKEAT   CAPTAINS. 

abreast  of  the  forts  before  they  were  discovered,  and 
fire  opened  upon  them  ;  but  from  that  moment  the  firing 
was  terrible,  and  the  smoke,  settling  down  like  a  pall 
upon  the  river,  produced  intense  darkness,  and  the  ships 
could  only  aim  at  the  flash  from  the  forts,  the  forts  at  the 
flash  from  the  ships.  A  fire-raft,  pushed  by  the  ram 
Manassas  against  the  flag-ship  (the  Hartford)  set  it  on 
fire,  and  at  the  same  instant  it  ran  aground  ;  but  by  the 
prompt  and  disciplined  exertions  of  the  men  it  was  ex 
tinguished  in  a  few  minutes  and  got  afloat,  never  ceasing 
for  a  moment  its  fire  upon  the  enemy.  At  times  the  gun 
boats  passed  so  near  the  forts  as  to  be  able  to  throw  their 
broadsides  of  shrapnel,  grape,  and  canister  with  most 
destructive  force  into  their  interior ;  and  the  forts,  in  the 
endeavor  to  depress  their  guns  sufficiently  to  strike  the 
vessels,  lost  their  shot,  which  rolled  into  the  ditches. 
They  were  nearly  past  the  forts  when  the  rebel  fleet 
came  down  upon  them,  the  iron-clad  ram  Manassas 
among  them.  Several  of  these  gunboats  were  iron 
clad  about  the  bow,  and  had  iron  beaks  or  spurs.  The 
Cayuga,  Captain  Bailey's  flagship,  was  the  first  to  en 
counter  these;  and  soon  after  the  Yaruna,  commanded  by 
Captain  Boggs,  found  itself  in  a  nest  of  rebel  steamers, 
and  moved  forward  delivering  its  broadsides,  port  and 
starboard,  with  fearful  precision,  into  its  antagonists, 
four  of  which  were  speedily  disabled  and  sunk  by  its 
fire.  The  Yaruna  was  finally  attacked  by  the  Morgan 
and  another  rebel  gunboat,  both  iron-clad  at  the  bow, 
which  crushed  in  her  sides  ;  but,  crowding  her  steam,  she 
.drew  them  on,  while  still  fast,  and  poured  broadsides 
into  both,  which  drove  them  ashore  crippled  and  in  flames. 
Running  his  own  steamer  on  shore  as  speedily  as  pos 
sible,  the  gallant  Boggs  fought  her  as  long  as  his 
guns  were  out  of  water,  and  then  brought  off  his 


VICE-ADMIRAL    FARRAGUT.  263 

men,  who  were  taken  on  board  the  Oneida  and  othe; 
gunboats  of  the  fleet.  Several  of  the  gunboats  were 
considerably  injured,  but  none  of  them  lost  except  the 
Varuna.  The  Itasca,  Winona,  and  Kennebec  were  dis 
abled,  and  obliged  to  fall  back.  Thirteen  of  the  seven 
teen  vessels  composing  Flag-Officer  Farragut's  squadron 
were  able  to  pass  in  safety  these  forts,  and  had  defeated 
a  rebel  fleet,  destroying  thirteen  of  their  gunboats  and 
rams,  and  the  iron-clad  Manassas,  and  compelling  the  re 
mainder  to  shelter  themselves  under  the  guns  of  the  forts. 
The  entire  loss  of  the  Union  squadron  was  but  thirty-six 
killed,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  wounded. 

The  gallant  flag-officer  now  ascended  the  river,  en 
countering  slight  opposition  from  the  Chalmette  bat 
teries,  about  three  miles  below  New  Orleans ;  but  they 
were  silenced  in  twenty  minutes,  and  at  noon  of  the  25th 
of  April  he  lay  in  front  of  the  city,  and  demanded  its 
surrender.  Four  days  later  the  forts  were  surrendered  to 
Captain  Porter,  and  General  Butler  came  up  the  river 
to  arrange  for  landing  his  troops,  and  taking  possession 
of  the  conquered  city.  Meantime,  Farragut  had  as 
cended  the  river  above  the  city  to  Carrolton,  where  had 
been  erected  some  strong  works  to  oppose  the  progress 
of  Flag-Officer  Foote,  should  he  descend  the  river. 
These,  on  the  approach  of  the  gunboats,  were  abandoned, 
and  their  guns  spiked.  They  were  destroyed. 

New  Orleans  being  safely  in  the  possession  of  the 
Union  forces,  Flag-Officer  Farragut  ascended  the  Missis 
sippi,  and,  on  the  27th  of  June,  ran  his  vessels  safely 
past  the  rebel  batteries  at  Vicksburg,  and  communicated 
with  Flag-Officer  Davis,  then  commanding  the  Missis 
sippi  Squadron,  and  arranged  for  a  joint  attack  upon 
Vicksburg.  The  attack  failed,  because  the  bluffs  at 
Vicksburg  were  too  high  to  be  effectively  bombarded 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

by  the  gunboats,  and  the  capture  of  the  city  required 
the  co-operation  of  a  land  force.  He  therefore  repassed 
the  batteries  in  safety  on  the  15th  of  July,  and,  descend 
ing  the  river,  made  Pensacola  the  headquarters  of  his 
squadron.  On  the  llth  of  July,  the  rank  of  rear-admiral 
having  been  created  in  accordance  with  the  recommen 
dation  of  a  committee  of  Congress,  Captain  Farragut 
was  advanced  to  that  rank,  and  placed  first  on  the  list 
for  his  meritorious  conduct  in  the  capture  of  New  Or 
leans.  He  also  received  the  thanks  of  both  houses  of 
Congress.  In  the  autumn  of  1862,  he  directed  the  naval 
attacks  on  Corpus  Christi,  Sabine  Pass,  and  Galveston, 
which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  those  points.  In  his 
duties,  as  the  commander  of  a  blockading  and  guarding 
squadron,  there  was  much  of  detail ;  attacks  of  guerillas 
along  the  river  shores,  to  be  parried  and  punished ;  sur 
prises  of  the  weaker  vessels  of  the  squadron,  to  be  chas1 
tised  and  revenged  ;  expeditions  against  rebel  towns  on 
or  near  the  coast,  to  be  aided  and  sustained ;  and  careful 
lookout  to  be  kept  for  blockade-runners,  who  sought 
their  opportunity  to  slip  into  the  ports  of  Mobile,  Gal 
veston,  and  Aransas.  These  occupied  much  of  his  time 
during  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1862-3. 

Early  in  March,  1863,  General  Grant,  who  was  then 
engaged  in  his  campaign  against  Vicksburg,  desired  that 
Rear-Admiral  Farragut  should  force  his  way  up  the 
Mississippi  with  some  of  his  most  formidable  steamships, 
and  assault  Vicksburg  from  below,  believing  that  such 
an  assault  would  aid  materially  in  its  reduction.  He 
proposed  also  that  a  co-operating  force  from  Rear- 
Admiral  Porter's  squadron  should  run  past  the  batteries 
of  Vicksburg  and  aid  in  this  attack,  and  be  prepared  also 
to  assail  and  carry  some  of  the  river  batteries  below, 
when  he  should  have  sent  his  troops  down  the  west 


VICE-ADMIRAL   FARRAGTJT. 

side  of  the  Mississippi,  as  he  had  already  determined 

to  do.  n 

The  hero  of  New  Orleans  promptly  responded  to  Gen 
eral  Grant's  wish.     He  selected  for  the  work  eight  of  Ins 
vessels,  the  Hartford,  his  flag-ship,  the  Richmond,  a  sis- 
ter  ship  in  size  and  armament,  the  Mississippi,  a  first 
class  steamship,  the  Monongahela,  rated  as  second-class, 
and  with  a  lighter  armament,  and  the  gunboats  Kmeo, 
Albatross,  and  Genesee.     Besides  these,  there  were  six 
mortar-boats,  which  were  to  take  part  in  the  bombard 
ment,  but  not  to  run  past  the  batteries.     The  gunboats 
were  strengthened,  and  prepared  to  resist  the  terrible 
ordeal  of  fire  they  would  have  to  encounter  in  passing 
the  batteries  of  Port  Hudson,  two  hundred  and  thirty-^ 
two  miles  below  Vicksburg,  the  most  formidable  line  of 
fortifications  on  the  river  except  those  of  Vicksburg.     On 
the  morning   of  the   14th  of  March,  the   squadron   an 
chored  near  Prophet's  Island,  and  at  half  past  one  o'clock, 
P  M.,   the    mortar-boats    commenced    bombarding   the 
lower  batteries,  while  a  small  land-force,  sent  to  the  rear 
of  the  town  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  garrison,  on 
attaining   their   position,  opened  fire.     The    steamships 
meantime  awaited  nightfall  for  their  movements  ;  and,  at 
half-past   nine    P.  M,  with   lights    out,  and   their    decks 
whitewashed,  to  enable  the  men  to  see  their  shot  and 
shell  which  were   piled   upon    the   decks,   they  movec 
quietly  up  the  river,  lashed  together,  two  and  two,  and 
huo-crino-  the  eastern  bank.     Dark  as  was  the  night,  their 
movements  were  watched,  and  signalled  by  the  rebel 
scouts,  and  an   immense  bonfire  was  instantly  kindled 
which  threw  its  lurid  flames  upon  the  river,  in  front  o: 
the  most  powerful  of  the  rebel  batteries,  and  would  re 
veal  at  once  the  form  and  position  of  any  vessel  which 
might  attempt  to  pass.     The  situation  was  evidently  t 


OUR    GBP: AT    CAPTAINS. 

coming  more  desperate  every  moment ;  but  the  stout 
heart  of  the  admiral  did  not  quail  for  an  instant,  and  his 
squadron  moved  on  swiftly  towards  the  illumined  point, 
while  as  yet  no  gun  had  been  fired.  Suddenly  a  rebel 
fieldpiece,  concealed  in  the  foliage  along  the  shore, 
opened  tire  upon  the  Hartford,  and  a  broadside  was  re 
turned.  Then  opened  upon  the  stately  vessel  and  her 
consort  a  storm  of  fire  which  seemed  sufficient  to  anni 
hilate  both.  The.  rebel  batteries,  extending  a  distance 
of  nearly  four  miles,  and  rising  tier  above  tier  on  the 
lofty  bluffs,  showered  their  iron  hail  upon  the  doomed 
vessels  and  the  mortar-boats  from  below,  and  the  vessels 
of  the  squadron  sent  back  their  replies  in  tones  of  thun 
der.  To  add  to  their  difficulties,  the  smoke  here,  as  at 
the  forts  below  New  Orleans,  settled  murky  and  thick 
upon  the  river,  and  bewildered  the  pilots  and  gunners. 
The  rebels,  from  their  stationary  batteries,  could  lire  with 
more  chance  of  success,  but  the  gunboats  were  more 
than  once  in  imminent  danger  of  firing  into  each  other. 
As  yet,  however,  no  one  of  the  vessels  had  been  dis 
abled  ;  but  as  they  neared  the  line  of  light,  at  a  point 
where  the  Mississippi  river  curves  and  the  channel  runs 
close  to  the  eastern  bank,  thus  bringing  the  vessels  al 
most  muzzle  to  muzzle  with  the  water  batteries  which 
lined  the  river-bank,  the  contest  grew  still  more  furious. 
The  Hartford  and  Albatross,  which  were  lashed  toge 
ther,  succeeded  in  passing  the  batteries  without  serious 
injury;  the  Richmond,  with  the  Genesee  attached  to  her, 
had  passed  most  of  the  principal  batteries,  though  with 
heavy  loss  of  gallant  officers,  when  a  shot  penetrated  her 
steam-chest  and  disabled  her,  and  with  her  consort  .she 
dropped  down  to  Prophet's  Island.  The  Monongahela 
and  Kineo  came  next,  but  the  former  grounded,  and  for 
twenty-five  minutes  was  exposed  to  the  steady  fire  of 


VICE-ADMIJ.CAL    FAEliAGUT. 


the  principal  rebel  batteries,  and  was  badly  cut  up ;  but 
finally  floating,  through  the  exertions  of  her  consort  she 
again  attempted  the  passage,  but  was  disabled  and  obliged 
to  drop  down  the  river.     The  Mississippi  and  Sachem 
came  last,  and   had  reached  the  point  directly  opposite 
the  town  without  any  serious  injury,  when  the  Mississippi 
grounded  hard  and  fast  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
where  she  was  exposed  to  the  concentrated  fire  of  the 
entire  rebel  batteries.     Captain  Smith,  her  commander, 
while  every  effort  was  making  to  get  her  off,  ordered  his 
gunners  to  keep  up  as  rapid  a  fire  as  possible.     In  the 
next  thirty-five  minutes  they  fired  two  hundred  and  fifty 
shots.     At  the  end  of  that  time  it  became  evident  that 
she  could  not  be  saved ;  and  providing  promptly  for  the 
preservation  of  his  crew  and  his  wounded  men,  Captain 
Smith  spiked  the  guns  himself,  and  laid  the  combustibles 
so  as  to  burn  the  ship.     He  had  just  fired  the  combus 
tibles  forward,  and  left  the  ship,  when  two  rebel  shells 
striking  her  amidships  set  on  fire  some  barrels  of  turpen 
tine,    and.  in    an    instant   she  was  enveloped   in  flame. 
Lightened  by  the  combustion  and  the  removal  of  three 
hundred  men,  she  now  floated  ;  and  turning  round,  the 
guns  of  her  port  battery,  which  had  not  been  discharged, 
now   reached   by  the  fire,  poured  a  final  and   terrible 
broadside  into  the  rebel  town.     Drifting  on,  a  mass  of 
flame,  she  passed  behind  Prophet's  Island ;  and  her  mag 
azine  exploding,  she  sank  beneath  the  waters. 

Of  the  whole  fleet,  then,  only  the  Hartford  and  Alba 
tross  passed  the  batteries,  but  the  Mississippi  alone  was 
destroyed  ;  the  others,  though  injured,  were  soon  repaired, 
and  subsequently  rendered  efficient  service  in  the  re 
duction  of  the  rebel  stronghold.  The  Hartford  and  Al 
batross  blockaded  for  several  weeks  the  mouth  of  Red 
River,  from  which  supplies  had  been  sent  to  Vicksburg ; 


2f>3  OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 

and  when  Admiral  Porter,  in  May,  having  run  a  part  of 
his  squadron  past  the  Vicksburg  batteries,  relieved  Ad 
miral  Farragut  from  this  duty,  he  returned  with  his  ves 
sels  to  New  Orleans  by  way  of  the  Atchafalaya,  and 
directed  the  naval  operations  against  Port  Hudson  until 
its  surrender. 

The  admiral  had  long  desired  to  attack  the  defences  of 
Mobile,  and  thus  effectually  check  the  blockade-running 
which  it  was  impossible  wholly  to  prevent  while  that 
port  was  left  unmolested.  The  three  rebel  forts,  Morgan, 
Powell,  and  Gaines,  strong  works  at  the  entrance  of 
Mobile  Bay,  prevented  the  near  approach  of  the  vessels 
of  the  blockading  squadron,  and  protected  the  blockade- 
runners  in  entering  the  bay.  An  attack  on  these  forts 
had  been  several  times  projected,  but  as  often  delayed 
from  one  cause  or  another.  It  was  not  till  the  summer 
of  1864,  that  a  combined  attack  of  land  and  sea  forces 
could  be  arranged.  On  the  8th  of  July,  Rear-Admiral 
Farragut  had  an  interview  with  Generals  Canby  and 
Granger,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  an  immediate  at 
tack.  General  Canby  promised  his* assistance,  but  was 
soon  after  compelled  to  retract  his  promise.  On  the  1st 
of  August,  General  Granger  again  visited  the  admiral, 
and  a  definite  arrangement  was  made  for  an  attack  on 
the  4th.  Owing  to  unavoidable  delay,  however,  the  at 
tack  was  not  made  till  the  morning  of  the  5th,  though 
the  troops  were  landed  on  Dauphin  Island. 

The  fleet  which  was  to  take  part  in  the  attack  con 
sisted  of  fourteen  sloops  of  war  and  gunboats,  and  four 
iron-clad  monitors.  The  admiral  arranged  the"m  for  the 
attack  as  follows :  the  Brooklyn  and  Octorara  were 
lashed  together,  the  Brooklyn  being  on  the  starboard 
side,  nearest  Fort  Morgan — the  Brooklyn  being,  much 
against  the  admiral's  wishes,  allowed  the  lead  ;  next,  the 


VICfc-ADMIKAL    FARKAGUT. 

Hartford  and  Metacomet,  followed  by  the  Richmond 
and  Port  Royal,  the  Laokawanna  and  Semmole,  the 
Monongahela  and  Kennebec,the  Osipee  and  Itasca,  and 
the  Oneida  and  Galena.  The  torn-  monitors  were  ar- 
ranged  in  the  following  order,  to  the  right  or  starboard 
of  the  -unboats:  the  Tecumseh,  Commander  T  A.  M. 
Craven,  taking  the  lead,  and  followed  by  the  Manhattan, 
Commander  Nicholson,  the  Winnebago,  Commander 
Stevens,  and  the  Chickasaw,  Lieutenant-Commaud 

FeThTrebels,  in  addition  to  three  forts  all  manned  with 
large  garrisons,  had  a  squadron  consisting  of  the  iron- 
clad  ram  Tennessee,  regarded  by  them  as  the  most  for- 
midable  armed  vessel  ever  constructed,  and  three  pow 
erful  gunboats,  the  Selma,  Morgan,  and  Games. 

The  fleet  steamed  steadily  up  the  channel,  the  Tecum 
seh  firing  the  first  shot  at  6.47  A.  M.     The  rebels  opened 
upon  them  from  Fort  Morgan  at  six  minutes  past  seven, 
and  the  Brooklyn  replied,  after  which  the  action  became 
general.     The  Brooklyn  now  paused,  and  tor  good 
L-the  Tecumseh,  near  her,  careened   suddenly   and 
sank  almost  instantly,   having   struck  and   «^f.» 
torpedo;  and  her  gallant  commander  and  nearly  a 
crew  sank  with  her. 

Directing  the  commander  of  the  Metacomet  to  send  a 
boat  instantly  to  rescue  her  crew,  Admiral  Farragut  de 
termined  to  take  the  lead  in  his  own  flag-ship,  the  Hart- 
ford,  and  putting  on  all  steam,  led  off  through  a  track 
which  had  been  lined  with  torpedoes  by  the  rebels;  but 
he  says,  -Believing  that  from  their  having  been  som 
time  in  the  water,  they  were  probably  innocuous,  I  de- 
termined  to  take  the-  chance  of  their  explosion 

Turning  to  the  northwestward  to  clear   the  middle 
ground,  the  fleet  were  enabled  to  keep  such  a  broadside 


270  OUR    GREAT   CAPTAINS. 

fire  on  the  batteries  of  Fort  Morgan  as  to  prevent  them 
from  doing  much  injury.  After  they  had  passed  the  fort, 
about  ten  minutes  before  eight  o'clock,  the  ram  Tennes 
see  dashed  out  at  the  Hartford ;  but  the  admiral  took  no 
further  notice  of  her  than  to  return  her  fire.  The  rebel 
gunboats  we're  ahead  and  annoyed  the  fleet  by  a  raking 
fire,  and  the  admiral  detached  his  consort,  the  Meta- 
comet,  ordering  her  commander,  Lieutenant-Commander 
Jouett,  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  Selma,  and  the  Octorara 
was  detached  to  pursue  one  of  the  others.  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Jouett  captured  the  Selma,  but  the  other 
two  escaped  under  the  protection  of  the  guns  of  Fort 
Morgan,  though  the  Gaines  was  so  much  injured  that 
she  was  run  ashore  and  destroyed.  The  combat  which 
followed  between  the  Tennessee  and  the  Union  fleet, 
and  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  that  formidable  iron 
clad  vessel,  is  best  described  in  the  admiral's  own 
words : 

"  Having  passed  the  forts  and  dispersed  the  enemy's 
gunboats,  I  had  ordered  most  of  the  vessels  to  anchor, 
when  I  perceived  the  ram  Tennessee  standing  up  for  this 
ship.  This  was  at  forty-five  minutes  past  eight.  I  was 
not  long  in  comprehending  his  intentions  to  be  the  de 
struction  of  the  flag-ship.  The  monitors  and  such  of  the 
wooden  vessels  as  I  thought  best  adapted  for  the  purpose, 
were  immediately  ordered  to  attack  the  ram,  not  only 
with  their  guns,  but  bows  on  at  full  speed ;  and  then  be 
gan  one  of  the  fiercest  naval  combats  on  record. 

"The  Monongahela,  Commander  Strong,  was  the  first 
vessel  that  struck  her,  and  in  doing  so,  carried  away  his 
own  iron  prow,  together  with  the  cutwater,  without  ap 
parently  doing  her  adversary  mucli  injury.  The  Lacka- 
wanna,  Captain  Marchand,  was  the  next  vessel  to  strike 
her,  which  she  did  at  full  speed ;  but  though  her  stem 


VICE-ADMIBiL   FAKEAGUT.  271 

was  cut  and  crushed  to  the  plank-ends  for  the  distance  of 
three  feet  above  the  water's  edge  to  five  feet  below,  the 
only  perceptible  effect  on  the  ram  was  to  give 

heavy  list.  , 

"The  Hartford  was  the  third  vessel  that  struck  her ;  but, 
as  the  Tennessee  quickly  shifted  her  helm,  the  blow  was 
a  glancing  one,  and,  as  she. rasped  along  our  side  we 
poured  our  whole  port  broadside  of  nine-inch  solid  shot 
within  ten  feet  of  her  casement. 

"The  monitors  worked  slowly,  but  delivered  their  fire 
as  opportunity  offered.  The  Chickasaw  succeeded  m 
getting  under  her  stern,  and  a  fifteen-inch  shot  from  the 
Manhattan  broke  through  her  iron  plating  and  heavy 
wooden  backing,  though  the  missile  itself  did  not  enter 

the  vessel.  ,  .      T 

"Immediately  after  the  collision  with  the  flag-ship,  I 
directed  Captain  Dray  ton  to  bear  down  for  the  ram 
.sain.  He  was  doing  so  at  full  speed,  when  un fortn- 
natelv,  the  Lackawanna  run  into  the  Hartford  just  for 
ward' of  the  mizzen-mast,  cutting  her  down  to  within  two 
feet  of  the  water's  edge.  We  soon  got  clear  again,  how 
ever  and  were  fast  approaching  our  adversary,  when  she 
itmok  her  colors  and  run  up  the  white  flag.  _ 

"She  was  at  this  time  sore  beset;  the  Chickasaw  was 
pounding  away  at  her  stern,  the  Ossipee  was  approach- 
Ing  her  at  full  speed,  and  the  Monongahela,  Lackawanna 
and  this  ship  were  bearing  down  upon  her  determmed 
,,pon  her  destruction.     Her  smoke-stack  had  been  sho 
avav   her  steering-chains  were  gone,  compelling  a  resoi 
to  he    relieving-tlckles,  and  several  of  her  port  gutter, 
w.re   jammed.     Indeed,  from   the   tune   the   Hartioid 
struck  her,  until  her  surrender,  she  never  fired  a  gun. 
tsthe  Ossipee,  Commander  Le  Roy,  was  about  to  strike 
her,  she  hoisted  the  white  flag,  and  that  vessel  nnmed,- 


272  OUR   GKKAT   CAPTAINS 

ately  stopped  her  engine,  though  not  in  time  to  avoid  a 
glancing  blow. 

"  During  this  contest  with  the  rebel  gunboats  and  the 
ram  Tennessee,  and  which  terminated  by  her  surrender  at 
10  o'clock,  we  lost  many  more  men  than  from  the  fire  oi 
the  batteries  of  Fort  Morgan." 

The  rebel  Admiral  Buchanan  was  severely  wounded, 
and  subsequently  lost  a  leg  by  amputation.  Admiral 
Farragut,  as  humane  in  his  feelings  towards  a  wounded 
foe  as  he  was  gallant  and  daring  in  action,  immediately 
addressed  a  note  to  Brigadier-General  Page,  the  com 
mander  of  Fort  Morgan,  asking  permission  to  send  the 
rebel  admiral  and  the  other  wounded  rebel  officers  by 
ship,  under  flag  of  truce,  to  the  Union  hospitals  at  Pensa- 
cola,  where  they  could  be  tenderly  cared  for.  This  re 
quest  was  granted,  and  the  Metacomet  dispatched  with 
them. 

The  admiral  had  stationed  himself  "  in  an  elevated  po 
sition  in  the  main  rigging,  near  the  top,"  a  place  of  great 
peril,  but  one  which  enabled  him  to  see  much  better  than 
if  he  had  been  on  deck,  the  progress  of  th'e.  battle ;  and 
from  thence  he  witnessed,  and  testified  with  great  grati 
fication  to,  the  admirable  conduct  of  the  men  at  their 
guns,  throughout  the  fleet ;  and,  in  the  connection,  gives 
utterance  to  a  sentiment  which  shows  most  conclusively 
his  sympathy  and  tenderness:  "  Although,"  he  says,  "  no 
doubt  their  hearts  sickened,  as  mine  did,  when  their  ship 
mates  were  struck  down  beside  them,  yet  there  was  not 
a  moment's  hesitation  to  lay  their  comrades  aside  and 
spring  again  to  their  deadly  work." 

It  is  said  that  at  the  moment  of  the  collision  between 
the  Hartford  and  Lackawanna,  when  the  men  called  to 
each  other  to  save  the  admiral,  Farragut,  finding  the 
ship  would  float  at  least  long  enough  to  serve  his  pur- 


VICE-ADMIUAL     FARKAGUT.  273 

pose,  and  thinking  of  that  only,  called  out  to  his  fleet- 
captain,  «  Go  on  with  speed  !     Ram  her  again  !« 

The  results  of  this  victory  were  the  destruction  of  the 
rebel  fleet ;  the  capture  of  the  armored  ship  Tennessee, 
and  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  rebel  officers  and  men ; 
the  abandonment  on  the  next  day  of  Fort  P<*vell,  with 
eighteen  guns;  the  surrender  on  the  8th  of  Fort  Games, 
with  fifty-six  officers,  eight  hundred  and  eighteen  men, 
and  twenty-six  guns  ;  and  on  the  23d  of  August,  after  a 
further  bombardment  of  twenty-four  hours,  of  Fort 
Morgan,  with  sixty  guns  and  'six  hundred  prisoners. 
By  these  captures,  the  port  of  Mobile  was  hermeti 
cally  sealed  against  blockade-runners,  and  a  serious 
blow  given  to  the  rebel  cause. 

Rear- Admiral  Farragut  remained  in  command  of  the 
West  Gulf  squadron  till  November,  1864,  when  he  re 
quested  leave  of  absence,  and  was  called  to  Washington 
for  consultation  in  regard  to  future  naval   operations 
Soon  after  the    opening   of  Congress,   a   resolution   of 
thanks  was   passed,  to    him,  for  his  brilliant  victory  at 
Mobile,  and  the  rank  of  vice-admiral,  corresponding  to 
that  of  lieutenant-general  in  the  army,  was  created,  and 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1865,  David  Glascoe  Farragut 
promoted  to  it.     This  appointment  makes  him  the  virtual 
chief  commander  of  the  naval  forces  of  the  United  States. 
The  West  Gulf  blockading  squadron,  during  all  the 
time  Admiral  Farragut  was  in  command  of  it,  had  had 
more  fighting  and  less  prizes  than  any  other  blockading 
squadron  on  the  coast ;  and  while  Admirals  Dupont,  Lee, 
Porter,  and  Dahlgren  had  accumulated  immense  fortunes 
by  their  shares  of  prize-money,  Admiral  Farragut  had 
received  little  beyond  his  regular  pay.     The  merchants 
of  New  York,  understanding  this,  and  recognizing  the 
great  services  he  had  rendered  to  commerce  and  to  the 


OUIi    GliKAT    CAPTAINS. 


nation,  subscribed  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  which 
was  presented  to  him  in  U.  S.  7.30  Treasury  notes,  in 
January,  1865,  in  testimony  of  their  appreciation  of  hi* 
ability  and  success  as  a  naval  commander. 

We  do  not  expect  any  praise,  scarcely  indeed  common 
civility,  in«peaking  of  our  generals  or  admirals,  from  that 
English  journal  which  is  so  thorough  an  exponent  of  the 
prejudices  and  hostility  of  the  English  aristocracy  tow 
ards  us,  the  "  Army  and  Navy  Gazette  ;"  yet  that  jour 
nal  has  found  itself  compelled  to  speak  of  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  as  "the  doughty  admiral  whose  feats  of  arms  place 
him  at  the  head  of  his  profession,  and  certainly  constitute 
him  the  first  naval  officer  of  the  day,  as  far  as  actual  repu 
tation  won  by  skill,  courage,  and  hard  fighting  goes." 

In  the  first  week  of  April,  1865,  Vice-Admiral  Farra- 
gut  visited  Norfolk  for  the  first  time  since  he  left  it  in 
1861,  and  was  welcomed  to  the  city  by  a  committee  of 
the  Loyal  League  of  that  city,  with  an  address,  to  which 
he  replied  as  follows  : 

"  MR.  CHAIRMAN,  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  UNION  LEAGUE, 
FELLOW-CITIZENS,  AND  MY  BROTHER  OFFICERS  OF  THE 
ARMY  AND  NAVY:—!  thank  you  for  the  kind  remarks 
which  you  have  been  pleased  to  make,  and  I  wish  that  I 
had  the  language  to  express  myself  as  I  have  heard 
others  very  near  me  four  years  ago,  in  this  place,  when 
we  had  our  best  speakers  standing  forth  for  the  Union, 
and  striving  with  all  their  rhetoric  to  persuade  the  peo- 
•  pie  to  desist  from  their  unholy  resolution,  and  cast  their 
votes  for  the  Union.  This  meeting  recalls  to  me  the 
most  momentous  events  of  my  life,  when  I  listened  in 
this  place  till  the  small  hours  of  the  morning,  and  re 
turned  home  with  the  feeling  that  Virginia  was  safe  and 
firm  in  her  place  in  the  Union.  Our  Union  members  to 


VICE- ADMIRAL    FAR  K  A  GUT.  275 

the  convention   were  elected  by  an  overwhelming  ma 
jority,  and  sent    to   Richmond,   and  we  believed   that 
every  thing  was  right.     Judge,  then,  my  friends,  of  our 
astonishment  in  finding,  a  few  days  later,  that  the  State. 
had  been  voted  out  by  a  miserable  minority,  for  the 
want   of  firmness   and   resolution   on  the  part  of  those 
whom  we  trusted  to  represent  us  there,  and  that  Vir 
ginia  had  been  dragooned  out  of  the  Union.     What  was 
the   reason   for   this    act?      The    President's    call   for 
seventy-five  thousand  men  ?       Why,  our  arsenals,  navy- 
yards,  money  in  the  mint  at  New   Orleans  had   been 
seized,  and  Sumter  bombarded.     Was  it  then  remark 
able  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  should 
call  for  troops  to  sustain  itself?     Would  Jackson  have 
submitted  to  this  ?     No  ;   for  I  recollect  that  I  myself 
had  the  honor  to  be  sent  to  South  Carolina  to  support 
his  mandate  that  the  Union  must  and  should  be  pre 
served.     I  was  told  by  a  brother  officer  that  the  State 
had  seceded,   and  that  I  must  either  resign  and  turn 
traitor  to  the  Government  which  had  supported  me  from 
my  childhood,  or  I  must  leave  this  place.     Thank  God ! 
I  was  not  long  in  making  my  decision.     I  have  spent 
half  of  my  life  in  revolutionary  countries,  and  I  know 
the  horrors  of  civil  war,  and  I  told  the  people  what  I 
had    seen,    and   what   they   would    experience.      They 
laughed  at  me,  and  called  me  c  granny'  and  '  croaker ;' 
and  I  said,  'I  cannot  live  here,  and  will  seek  some  other 
place  where  I  can  live,  and  on  two  hours'  notice  ;'  and  I 
suppose  the  conspirators  said  I  left  my  country  for  my 
country's  good,  and  thank  God  I  did.     I  went  from  here 
with  the  few  valuables  I  could  hastily  collect.     I  was 
unwilling  to  believe  that  this  difficulty  would  not  have 
been  settled ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain,  arid,  as  every  man 
must  do  in  a  revolution  as  he  puts  his  foot  down,  so  it 


276 


OUR    GREAT    CAPTAINS. 


marks  his  life ;  so  it  has  pleased  God  to  protect  me  thus 
far,  and  make  me  somewhat  instrumental  in  dealing 
heavy  blows  at  the  rebellion.  I  have  been  nothing 
more  than  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God,  well  sup 
ported  by  my  officers  and  men,  who  have  done  their 
duty  faithfully.  I  hope,  my  friends,  that  this  day,  with 
its  events,  may  prove  the  culminating  point  of  our  revo 
lution  ;  and  I  hope  that  before  long  all  will  be  restored 
to  that  peace  and  reunion  which  has  been  sought  by  the 
Government  and  desired  by  everybody  ;  and  then  you, 
gentlemen,  who  have  deserved  so  well  of  your  country 
by  your  steady  adherence  to  its  Government,  will  receive 
the  reward  which  iidelity,  and  honesty,  and  moral 
courage  always  deserve." 

Notwithstanding  the  hardships  and  exposures  he  has 
undergone  in  a  life  of  which  more  than  forty  years  have 
been  spent  afloat,  the  sixty-four  years  of  the  vice-admi 
ral's  life  set  lightly  upon  him,  and  his  eye  is  as  clear,  his 
voice  as  hearty,  his  arm  as  vigorous,  and  his  judgment 
as  sound  as  when,  a  dozen  years  ago,  he  trod  the  quarter 
deck  of  a  man-of-war  in  foreign  ports.  Our  brief  sketch 
is  altogether  inadequate  to  represent  as  we  desire  the 
character  of  our  naval  hero  ;  but,  in  the  words  of  a  bril 
liant  writer  in  the  "United  States  Service  Magazine" 

O 

for  January,  1865,  we  may  say:  "When  his  biography 
comes  to  be  written,  the  public,  who  now  see  only  high 
courage  and  indomitable  vigor,  rewarded  by  great  and 
Drilliant  victories,  will  recognize  the  completeness  and 
harmony  of  a  character  that  has  so  far  appeared  to  them 
only  in  profile.  The  stainless  honor,  the  straightforward 
frankness,  the  vivacity  of  manner  and  conversation,  the 
gentleness,  the  flow  of  good-humor,  the  cheerful,  ever- 
buoyant  spirit  of  the  true  man, — these  will  be  added  to 


VICE-ADMIRAL    FARKAGUT.  277 

the  complete  education,  the  thorough  seamanship,  the 
careful  preparation,  the  devotion  to  duty,  and  lastly,  the 
restless  energy,  the  disdain  of  obstacles,  the  impatience 
of  delay  or  hesitation,  the  disregard  of  danger,  that  stand 
forth  in  such  prominence  in  the  portrait,  deeply  engraven 
on  the  loyal  American  heart,  of  the  GREAT  ADMIRAL." 

24 


APPENDIX. 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  GRANT  TO  THE  ARMIES. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICK, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  2,  1865. 

[GENERAL  ORDERS,  No.  108.] 
SOLDIERS  OF  THE  ARMIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

BY  your  patriotic  devotion  to  your  country  in  the  hour  of  danger 
and  alarm,  your  magnificent  fighting,  bravery,  and  endurance,  you 
have  maintained  the  supremacy  of  the  Union  arid  the  Constitution, 
overthrown  all  armed  opposition  to  the  enforcement  of  the  laws, 
and  of  the  proclamations  forever  abolishing  slavery — the  cause  and 
pretext  of  the  rebellion — and  opened  the  way  to  the  rightful  au 
thorities  to  restore  order  and  inaugurate  peace  on  a  permanent  and 
enduring  basis  on  every  foot  of  American  soil.  Your  marches, 
Bieges,  and  battles,  in  distance,  duration,  resolution,  and  brilliancy 
of  results,  dim  the  lustre  of  the  world's  past  military  achievements, 
and  will  be  the  patriot's  precedent  in  defence  of  liberty  and  right 
in  all  time  to  come.  In  obedience  to  your  country's  call,  you  left 
your  homes  and  families  and  volunteered  in  its  defence.  Victory 
has  crowned  your  valor,  and  secured  the  purpose  of  your  patriotic 
hearts  ;  and  with  the  gratitude  of  your  countrymen  and  the  highest 
honors  a  great  and  free  nation  can  accord,  you  will  soon  be  per 
mitted  to  return  to  your  homes  .and  families,  conscious  of  having 
discharged  the  highest  duty  of  American  citizens.  To  achieve  these 
glorious  triumphs  and  secure  to  yourselves,  your  fellow-country- 
inen  and  posterity  the  blessings  of  free  institutions,  tens  of  thou 
sands  of  your  gallant  comrades  have  fallen  and  sealed  the  priceless 
legacy  with  their  lives.  The  graves  of  these  a  grateful  nation  be 
dews  with  tears,  honors  their  memories,  and  will  ever  cherish  and 
support  their  stricken  families. 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 


GENERAL  SHERMAN'S  REPORT. 

HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 
In  the  Field,  City  Point,  Va.,  May  9,  1865. 

GENERAL — My  last  official  report  brought  the  history  of  events, 
as  connected  with  the  armies  in  the  field  subject  to  my  immediate 


280  APPENDIX. 

command,  down  to  the  1st  of  April,  when  the  Army  of  the  Ohio, 
Major-General  J.  M.  Schofield  commanding,  lay  at  Goldsboro', 
with  detachments  distributed  so  as  to  secure  and  cover  our  routes 
of  communication  and  supply,  back  to  the  sea  at  Wilmington  and 
Morehead  City  ;  Major-General  A.  H.  Terry,  with  the  Tenth  Corps, 
being  at  Faison's  Depot;  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  Major- 
General  0.0.  Howard  commanding,  was  encamped  to  the  right  and 
front  of  Goldsboro',  and  the  Army  of  Georgia,  Major-General  H. 
W.  Slocum  commanding,  to  its  left  and  front ;  the  cavalry,  brevet 
Major-General  J.  Kilpatrick  commanding,  at  Mount  Olive.  All 
were  busy  in  repairing  the  wear  and  tear  of  our  then  recent  arid 
hard  march  from  Savannah,  and  in  replenishing  clothing  and  stores 
necessary  for  a  further  progress. 

I  had  previously,  by  letter  and  in  person,  notified  the  lieutenant- 
general  commanding  the  Armies  of  the  United  States,  that  the 
10th  of  April  would  be  the  earliest  possible  moment  at  which  I 
could  hope  to  have  all  things  in  readiness,  and  we  were  compelled 
to  use  our  railroads  to  the  very  highest  possible  limit  in  order  to 
fulfil  that  promise,  owing  to  a  mistake  in  the  railroad  department, 
in  sending  locomotives  and  cars  of  the  five-foot  guage,  we  were  limit 
ed  to  the  use  of  the  few  locomotives  and  cars  of  the  four-foot  eight- 
and-a-half-inch  gauge  already  in  North  Carolina,  with  such  of  the  old 
stock  as  was  captured  by  Major-General  Terry  at  Wilmington,  and 
on  his  way  up  to  Goldsboro'.  Yet  such  judicious  use  was  made  of 
these,  and  such  industry  displayed  in  the  railroad  management,  by 
Generals  Easton  and  Beck  with,  and  Colonel  Wright  and  Mr.  Van 
Dyne,  that  by  the  10th  of  April  our  men  were  all  re-clad,  the  wagons 
re-loaded,  and  a  fair  amount  of  forage  accumulated  ahead. 

In  the  mean  time,  Major-General  George  Stoneman,  in  command 
of  a  division  of  cavalry  operating  from  East  Tennessee,  in  connec 
tion  with  Major-General  George  H.  Thomas,  in  pursuance  of  my 
orders  of  January  21,  1865,  had  reached  the  railroad  about  Greens 
boro',  North  Carolina,  and  had  made  sad  havoc  with  it,  and  had 
pushed  along  it  to  Salisbury,  destroying  en  route  bridges,  culverts, 
depots,  and  all  kinds  of  rebel  supplies,  and  had  extended  the  break 
in  the  railroad  down  to  the  Catawba  Bridge. 

This  was  fatal  to  the  hostile  armies  of  Lee  and  Johnston,  who  de 
pended  on  that  road  for  supplies  and  as  their  ultimate  line  of  retreat. 
Major-General  J.  H.  Wilson,  also  in  command  of  the  cavalry  corps 
organized  by  himself  under  Special  Field  Orders,  No.  — ,  of  October 
24,  18134,  at  Gaylesville,  Alabama,  had  started  from  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Decatur  and  Florence,  Alabama,  and  moved  straight 
into  the  heart  of  Alabama,  on  a  route  prescribed  for  General 
Thomas,  after  he  had  defeated  General  Hood  at  Nashville,  Ten 
nessee  ;  but  the  roads  being  too  heavy  for  infantry,  General  Thomas 
had  devolved  that  duty  on  that  most  energetic  young  cavalry  offi 
cer,  General  Wilson,  who,  imbued  with  the  proper  spirit,  has  struck 
one  of  the  best  blows  of  the  war  at  the  waning  strength  of  the 
Confederacy.  His  route  was  one  never  before  touched  by  our 
troops,  and  afforded  him  abundance  of  supplies  as  long  as  he  was 


APPENDIX.  281 

in  motion,  namely,  by  Tuscaloosa,  Selrna,  Montgomery,  Columbus, 
and  Macon.  Though  in  communication  with  him,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  receive  as  yet  his  full  and  detailed  reports,  which  will  in 
due  time  be  published  and  appreciated.  Lieutenant-General  Grant, 
also  in  immediate  command  of  the  armies  about  Richmond,  had 
taken  the  the  initiative  in  that  magnificent  campaign  which,  in 
less  than  ten  days,  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  and  re 
suited  in  the  destruction  and  surrender  of  the  entire  rebel  Army 
of  Virginia,  under  command  of  General  Lee. 

The  news  of  the  battles  about  Petersburg  reached  me  at  Golds- 
boro'  on  the  6th  of  April.  Up  to  that  time,  my  purpose  was  to 
move  rapidly  northward,  feign  on  Raleigh,  and  striking  straight 
for  Burkesville,  thereby  interposing  between  Johnston  and  Lee. 
But  the  auspicious  events  in  Virginia  had  changed  the  whole  mili 
tary  problem,  and,  in  the  expressive  language  of  Lieutenant-General 
Grant,  "the  Confederate  armies  of  Lee  and  Johnston"  became  the 
"strategic  points."  General  Grant  was  fully  able  to  take  care  of 
the  former,  and  my  task  was  to  capture  or  destroy  the  latter. 
Johnston,  at  that  time,  April  6th,  had  his  army  well  in  hand  about 
Srnithfield,  interposing  between  me  and  Raleigh.  I  estimated  his 
infantry  and  artillery  at  thirty-five  thousand,  and  his  cavalry  from 
six  to  ten  thousand.  He  was  superior  to  me  in  cavalry,  so  that  I 
held  General  Kilpatrick  in  reserve  at  Mount  Olive,  with  orders  to 
recruit  his  horses,  and  be  ready  to  make  a  sudden  and  rapid  march 
on  the  10th  of  April. 

At  daybreak  of  the  day  appointed,  all  the  heads  of  columns  were 
in  motion  straight  against  the  enemy,  Major-General  H.  W.  Slocum 
taking  the  two  direct  roads  for  Smithfield  ;  Major-General  0.  0. 
Howard  making  a  circuit  by  the  right,  and  feigning  up  the  Weldon 
road  to  disconcert  the  enemy's  cavalry  ;  Generals  Terry  and  Kil 
patrick  moving  on  the  west  side  of  the  Neuse  River,  and  aiming  to 
reach  the  rear  of  the  enemy  between  Smithfield  and  Raleigh. 
General  Schofield  followed  General  Slocum  in  support. 

All  the  columns  met,  within  six  miles  of  Goldsboro',  more  or 
less  cavalry,  with  the  usual  rail  barricades,  which  were  swept  be 
fore  us  as  chaff,  and  by  ten  A.M.  of  the  llth,  the  Fourteenth  Corps 
entered  Smithfield,  the  Twentieth  Corps  close  at  hand.  Johnston 
had  rapidly  retreated  across  the  Neuse  River,  and,  having  his 
railroad  to  lighten  up  his  trains,  could  retreat  faster  than  we  could 
pursue.  The  rains  had  also  set  in,  making  the  resort  to  corduroy 
absolutely  necessary  to  pass  even  ambulances.  The  enemy  had 
burned  the  bridge  at  Smithfield,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  Major- 
General  Slocum  got  up  his  pontoons  and  crossed  over  a  division  of 
the  Fourteenth  Corps.  We  there  heard  of  the  surrender  of  Lee's 
army  at  Appomattox  Court-house,  Virginia,  which  was  announced 
to  the  armies  in  orders,  and  created  universal  joy.  Not  an  officer 
or  soldier  of  my  armies  but  expressed  a  pride  and  satisfaction  that 
it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and  James  so  glo 
riously  to  overwhelm  and  capture  the  entire  army  that  had  held 
them  so  long  in  check,  and  their  success  gave  new  impulse  to  finish 

24* 


282  APPENDIX. 

up  our  task.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  we  dropped  our  trains 
and  inarched  rapidly  in  pursuit  to,  and  through  Raleigh,  reaching 
that  place  at  half-past  seven  A.  M.  of  the  13th,  in  a  heavy  rain. 
The  next  day  the  cavalry  pushed  on  through  the  rain  to  Durham's 
Station,  the  Fifteenth  Corps  following  as  far  as  Morrisville  Station, 
and  the  Seventeenth  Corps  to  Jones'  Station.  Oa  the  supposition 
that  Johnston  was  tied  to  his  railroad  as  a  line  of  retreat,  by  Hills- 
boro',  Greensboro',  Salisbury,  Charlotte,  etc.,  T  had  turned  the 
other  col  urns  across  the  bend  of  that  road  towards  Ashboro'.  (See 
Special  Field  Orders,  No.  55.)  The  cavalry,  brevet  Major-General 
J.  Ki I patrick  commanding,  was  ordered  to  keep  up  a  show  of 
pursuit  towards  the  "Company's  shops"  in  Alamance  county; 
Major-General  0.  0.  Howard  to  turn  to  the  left  by  Hackney's 
Cross-Roads,  Pittsboro',  St.  Lawrence,  and  Ashboro';  Major- 
General  H.  W.  Slocum,  to  cross  Cape  Fear  River  at  Aven's  Ferry, 
and  move  rapidly  by  Carthage,  Caledonia,  and  Cox's  Mills ;  Major- 
General  J.  M.  Schofield  was  to  hold  Raleigh,  and  the  road  back, 
and  with  his  spare  force  to  follow  an  intermediate  route. 

By  the  15th,  though  the  rains  were  incessant  and  the  roads  almost 
impracticable,  Major-General  Slocum  had  the  Fourteenth  Corps, 
brevet  Major-General  Davis  commanding,  near  Martha's  Vineyard, 
with  a  pontoon  bridge  laid  across  Cape  Fear  River  at  Aven's  Ferry, 
with  the  Twentieth  Corps,  Major-General  Mower  commanding,  in 
support ;  and  Major-General  Howard  had  the  Fifteenth  and  Seven 
teenth  corps  stretched  out  on  the  roads  towards  Pittsboro',  while 
General  Kilpatrick  held  Durham^  Station  and  Chapel  Hill  University. 

Johnston's  army  was  retreating  rapidly  on  the  roads  from  Hills- 
boro'  to  Greensboro',  he  himself  at  Greensboro'.  Although  out  of 
place  as  to  time,  I  here  invite  all  military  critics,  who  study  the 
problems  of  war,  to  take  their  maps  and  compare  the  position  oi 
my  army,  on  the  15th  and  16th  of  April,  with  that  of  General 
Halleck,  about  Burkesville  and  Petersburg,  Virginia,  on  the  26th 
of  April,  when,  according  to  his  telegram  to  Secretary  Stanton.  he 
offered  to  relieve  me  of  the  task  of  '•  cutting  off  Johnston's  retreat." 
Major-General  Stoneman  at  the  time  was  at  Statesville,  and  Johns 
ton's  only  line  of  retreat  was  by  Salisbury  and  Charlotte.  It  may 
be  that  General  Halleck's  troops  can  outmarch  mine,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  their  past  history  to  show  it,  or  it  may  be  that  General 
Halleck  can  inspire  his  troops  with  more  energy  of  action.  I  doubt 
that  also,  save  and  except  in  this  single  instance,  when  he  knew 
the  enemy  was  ready  to  surrender  or  disperse,  as  advised  by  my 
letter  of  April  18,  addressed  to  him  when  chief  of  staff  at  Washing 
ton  City,  and  delivered  at  Washington,  on  the  21st  instant,  by 
Major  Hitchcock,  of  my  staff. 

Thus  matters  stood  at  the  time  I  received  General  Johnston's  first 
letter,  and  made  my  answer  of  April  14th,  copies  of  which  were 
sent  with  all  expedition  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant  and  the 
secretary  of  war,  with  my  letter  of  April  15th.  I  agreed  to  meet 
General  Johnston  in  person,  at  a  point  intermediate  between  our 
pickets,  on  the  17th,  at  noon,  provided  the  position  of  the  troops 


APPENDIX.  283 

remained  in  statu  quo.  I  was  both  willing:  and  anxious  thus  to  con 
sume  a  few  days,  as  it  would  enable  Colonel  Wright  to  finish  our 
railroad  to  Raleigh. 

Two  bridges  had  to  be  built,  and  twelve  miles  of  new  road  made. 
We  had  no  iron  except  by  taking  up  that  on  the  branch  from  Golds- 
boro'  to  Weldon.  Instead  of  losing  by  time,  I  gained  in  every 
way,  for  every  hour  of  delay  possible  was  required  to  reconstruct 
the  railroad  to  our  rear,  and  improve  the  condition  of  our  wagon - 
roads  to  the  front,  so  desirable  in  case  the  negotiations  failed,  and 
we  be  forced  to  make  the  race  of  near  two  hundred  miles,  to  head 
off  or  catch  Johnston's  army,  then  retreating  towards  Charlotte. 

At  noon  of  the  day  appointed,  I  met  General  Johnston  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life,  although  we  had  been  interchanging  shots 
constantly  since  May,  1863. 

Our  interview  was  frank  and  soldier-like,  and  he  gave  me  to  un 
derstand  that  further  war  on  the  part  of  the  Confederate  troops  was 
folly,  that  the  cause  was  lost,  and  that  every  life  sacrificed  after  the 
surrender  of  Lee's  army  was  •'  the  highest  possible  crime."  He 
admitted  that  the  terms  conceded  to  General  Lee  were  magnani 
mous,  and  all  he  could  ask,  but  he  did  want  some  general  conces 
sions  that  would  enable  him  to  allay  the  natural  fears  and  anxieties 
of  his  followers,  arid  enable  him  to  maintain  his  control  over  them, 
until  they  could  be  got  back  to  the  neighborhood  of  their  homes, 
thereby  saving  the  State  of  North  Carolina  the  devastations  inevi 
tably  to  result  from  turning  his  men  loose  and  unprovided  on  the 
spot,  and  our  pursuit  across  the  State. 

He  also  wanted  to  embrace  in  the  same  general  proposition  the 
fate  of  all  the  Confederate  armies  that  remained  in  existence.  I 
never  made  any  concession  as  to  his  own  army,  or  assumed  to  deal 
finally  and  authoritatively  in  regard  to  any  other,  but  it  did  seem 
to  me  that  there  was  presented  a  chance  for  peace  that  might  be 
deemed  valuable  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  was 
at  least  worth  the  few  days  that  would  be  consumed  in  reference. 

To  push  an  army  whose  commander  had  so  frankly  and  honestly 
confessed  his  inability  to  cope  with  me,  were  cowardly,  and  un 
worthy  the  brave  men  I  led. 

Inasmuch  as  General  Johnston  did  not  feel  authorized  to  pledge 
his  power  over  the  armies  in  Texas,  we  adjourned  to  meet  the  next 
day  at  noon.  I  returned  to  Raleigh  and  conferred  freely  with  all 
my  general  officers,  every  one  of  whom  urged  me  to  complete  terms 
that  might  accomplish  so  complete  and  desirable  an  end.  All 
dreaded  the  weary  and  laborious  march  after  a  fugitive  and  dis 
solving  army  back  towards  Georgia,  almost  over  the  very  country 
where  we  had  toiled  so  long.  There  was  but  one  opinion  expressed, 
and  if  contrary  ones  were  entertained,  they  were  withheld,  or  in 
dulged  in  only  by  that  class  who  shun  the  fight  and  the  march,  but 
are  loudest,  bravest,  and  fiercest  when  danger  is  past.  I  again  met 
General  Johnston  on  the  18th,  and  we  renewed  the  conversation. 
He  satisfied  me  then  of  his  power  to  disband  the  rebel  armies  in 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  as  well  as  those  in  his 


284:  APPENDIX. 

immediate  command,  namely,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Florida,  and  Georgia. 

The  points  on  which  he  expressed  especial  solicitude  were,  lesfc 
their  States  were  to  be  dismembered  and  denied  representation  in 
Congress,  or  any  separate  political  existence  whatever,  and  that 
the  absolute  disarming  his  men  would  leave  the  South  powerless,  and 
exposed  to  depredations  by  wicked  bands  of  assassins  and  robbers. 

President  Lincoln's  message  of  1864  ;  his  amnesty  proclamation  ; 
General  Grant's  terms  to  General  Lee,  substantially  extending  the 
benefits  of  that  proclamation  to  all  officers  above  the  rank  of 
colonel ;  the  invitation  to  the  Virginia  Legislature  to  reassemble 
in  Richmond,  by  General  Weitzel,  with  the  approval  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln  and  General  Grant,  then  on  the  spot ;  a  firm  belief  that  I  had 
been  fighting  to  re-establish  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  last,  and  not  least,  the  general  and  universal  desire  to  close  a 
war  any  longer  without  organized  resistance,  were  the  leading  facts 
that  induced  me  to  pen  the  "memorandum"  of  April  18th,  signed 
by  myself  and  General  Johnston. 

It  was  designed  to  be.  and  so  expressed  on  its  face,  as  a  mere 
"basis"  for  reference  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
constitutional  commander-in  chief,  to  enable  him,  if  he  chose,  at 
one  blow  to  dissipate  the  military  power  of  the  Confederacy  which 
had  threatened  the  national  safety  for  years.  It  admitted  of  modi 
fication,  alteration,  and  change.  It  had  no  appearance  of  an  ulti 
matum,  and  by  no  false  reasoning  can  it  be  construed  into  a  usurp 
ation  of  power  on  my  part.  I  have  my  opinions  on  the  questions 
involved,  and  will  stand  by  the  memorandum  :  but  this  forms  no 
part  of  a  military  report.  Immediately  on  my  return  to  Raleigh  I 
dispatched  one  of  my  staff,  Major  Hitchcock,  to  Washington,  en 
joining  him  to  be  most  prudent  and  careful  to  avoid  the  spies  and 
informers  that  would  be  sure  to  infest  him  by  the  way,  and  to  say 
nothing  to  anybody  until  the  President  could  make  known  to  me 
his  wishes  and  policy  in  the  matter. 

The  news  of  President  Lincoln's  assassination  on  the  14th  of 
April  (wrongly  reported  to  me  by  telegraph  as  having  occurred  on 
the  llth)  reached  me  on  the  17th,  and  was  announced  to  my  com 
mand  on  the  same  day  in  Special  Field  Orders,  No.  56.  I  was  duly 
impressed  with  its  horrible  atrocity  and  probable  effect  upon  the 
country,  but  when  the  property  and  interests  of  millions  still  living 
were  involved,  I  saw  no  good  reason  to  change  my  course,  but 
thought  rather  to  manifest  real  respect  for  his  memory  by  following, 
after  his  death,  that  policy  which,  if  living,  I  feel  certain  he  would 
have  approved,  or  at  least  not  rejected  with  disdain.  Up  to  that 
hour  I  had  never  received  one  word  of  instruction,  advice,  or  coun 
sel  as  to  the  "plan  or  policy"  of  Government,  looking  to  a  restora 
tion  of  peace  on  the  part  of  the  rebel  States  of  the  South.  When 
ever  asked  for  an  opinion  on  the  points  involved,  I  had  always 
evaded  the  subject.  My  letter  to  the  Mayor  of  Atlanta  has  been 
published  to  the  world,  and  I  was  not  rebuked  by  the  War  Depart 
ment  for  it. 


APPENDIX.  285 

My  letter  to  Mr.  N W ,  at  Savannah,  was  shown  by  me 

to  Mr.  Stanton  before  its  publication,  and  all  that  my  memory  re 
tains  of  his  answer  is,  that  he  said,  like  my  letters  generally,  it  was 
sufficiently  "emphatic,  and  could  not  be  misunderstood." 

Both  these  letters  asserted  my  belief  that,  according  to  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  proclamations  and  messages,  when  the  people  of  the  South 
had  laid  down  their  arms,  and  submitted  to  the  lawful  power  of  the 
United  States,  ipso  facto  the  war  was  over  as  to  them  ;  and  further 
more,  that  if  any  State  in  rebellion  would  conform  to  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  "cease  war,"  elect  senators  and  repre 
sentatives  toCongrees,  if  admitted  (of  which  each  House  of  Congress 
alone  is  the  judge),  that  State  became  instanter  as  much  in  the  Union 
as  New  York  or  Ohio.  Nor  was  I  rebuked  for  this  expression, 
though  it  was  universally  known  and  commented  on  at  the  time. 
And  again,  Mr.  Stariton'in  person,  at  Savannah,  speaking  of  the 
terrific  expenses  of  the  war,  and  difficulty  of  realizing  the  money 
necessary  tor  the  daily  wants  of  the  Government,  impressed  me  most 
forcibly  with  the  necessity  of  bringing  the  war  to  a  close  as  soon  as 
possible  for  Jinai total  reasons. 

On  the  evening  of  April  23d,  Major  Hitchcock  reported  his  return 
to  Moiehead  City  with  dispatches,  of  which  fact  General  Johnston, 
at  Hillsboru'.  was  notified,  so  as  to-be  ready  in  the  morning  for  an 
answer.  At  6  o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  24th,  Major  Hitchcock  arrived, 
accompanied  by  General  Grant  and  members  of  his  staff,  who  had 
not  telegraphed  the  fact  of  his  coming  over  our  exposed  road  for 
prudential  reasons. 

1  soon  learned  that  the  memorandum  was  disapproved,  without 
reasons  assigned,  and  I  was  ordered  to  give  the  forty-eight  hours' 
notice,  and  resume  hostilities  at  the  close  of  that  time,  governing 
myself  by  the  substance  of  a  dispatch  then  inclosed,  dated  March 
3d  twelve  noon,  at  Washington.  District  of  Columbia,  from  Secre 
tary  Stanton  to  General  Grant,  at  City  Point,  but  not  accompanied 
by  any  part  of  the  voluminous  matter  so  liberally  lavished  on  the 
public  in  the  New  York  journals  of  the  '24th  of  April.  That  was 
the  first  and  only  time  I  ever  saw  that  telegram,  or  had  one  word  of 
instruction  on  the  important  matter  involved  in  it ;  and  it  does 
seem  strange  to  me  that  every  bar-room  loafer  in  New  York  can 
read  in  the  morning  journals  "official"  matter  that  is  withheld 
from  a  General  whose  command  extends  from  Kentucky  to  North 
Carolina. 

Within  an  hour  a  courier  was  riding  from  Durham  s  Station  to 
wards  Hillsboro'  with  notice  to  General  Johnston  of  the  suspension 
of  the  truce,  and  renewing  my  demand  for  the  surrender^  of  the 
armies  under  his  immediate  command  (see  two  letters,  April  24th, 
GAM)  and  at  12  M.  I  had  the  receipt  of  his  picket  officer.  I 
therefore  published  my  Orders,  No.  62,  to  the  troops,  terminating 
the  truce  at  12  M.  on  the  26th,  and  ordered  all  to  be  in  readiness  to 
march  at  that  hour  on  the  routes  prescribed  in  Special  Field  Order, 
No.  55,  April  14th,  from  the  positions  held  April  18th. 

General  Grant  had  orders  from  the  President,  through  the  Secre- 


236  APPENDIX. 

taiy  of  War,  to  direct  military  movements,  and  I  explained  to  him 
the  exact  position  of  the  troops,  and  he  approved  of  it  most  em 
phatically  ;  but  he  did  not  relieve  me,  or  express  a  wish  to  assume 
command.  All  things  were  in  readiness,  when,  on  the  evening  of 
the  25th,  I  received  another  letter  from  GeneialJohnston  asking 
another  interview  to  renew  negotiations. 

General  Grant  not  only  approved,  but  urged  me  to  accept,  and  I 
appointed  a  meeting  at  our  former  place  at  noon  of  the  2Gth,  the 
very  hour  fixed  for  the  renewal  of  hostilities.  General  Johnston 
was  delayed  by  an  accident  to  his  train,  but  at  2  p.  M.  arrived.  We 
then  consulted,  concluded  and  signed  the  final  terms  of  capitula 
tion. 

Those  were  taken  by  me  back  to  Raleigh,  submitted  to  General 
Grant,  and  met  his  immediate  approval  and  signature.  General 
Johnston  was  not  even  aware  of  the  presence  of  General  Grant  at 
Raleigh  at  the  time. 

Thus  was  surrendered  to  us  the  second  great  army  of  the  so- 
called  Confederacy,  and  though  undue  importance  has  been  given 
to  the  so-called  negotiations  which  preceded  it,  and  a  rebuke  and 
public  disfavor  cast  on  rne  wholly  unwarranted  by  the  facts,  I  re 
joice  in  saying  it  was  accomplished  without  further  ruin  and  de 
vastation  to  the  country,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  life  to  those 
gallant  men  who  had  followed  me  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Atlantic,  and  without  subjecting  brave  men  to  the  ungracious 
task  of  pursuing  a  fleeing  foe  that  did  not  want  to  fight.  As  for 
myself,  I  know  my  motives,  and  challenge  the  instance  during  the 
past  four  years  where  an  armed  and  defiant  foe  stood  before  me 
that  I  did  nofc  go  in  for  a  fight,  and  I  would  blush  for  shame  if  I 
had  ever  insulted  or  struck  a  fallen  foe.  The  instant  the  terms  of 
surrender  were  approved  by  General  Grant,  I  made  my  Orders, 
No.  6-">,  assigning  to  each  of  my  subordinate  commanders  his  share 
of  the  work,  and,  with  General  Grant's  approval,  made  Special 
Field  Orders,  No.  66,  putting  in  motion  my  old  army  (no  longer 
required  in  Carolina)  northward  for  Richmond.  General  Grant 
left  Raleigh  at  9  A.  M  of  the  27th,  and  I  glory  in  the  fact  that 
during  his  three  days'  stay  with  me,  I  did  not  detect  in  his 
language  or  manner  one  particle  of  abatement  iti  the  confidence, 
respect,  and  affection  that  have  existed  between  us  throughout  all 
the  varied  events  of  the  past  war,  and  though  we  have  honestly 
differed  in  opinion  in  other  cases,  as  well  as  this,  still  we  respected 
each  other's  honest  convictions. 

I  still  adhere  to  my  then  opinions,  that  by  a  few  general  con 
cessions,  "  glittering  generalities,"  all  of  which  in  the  end  must 
and  will  be  conceded  to  the  organized  States  of  the  South,  that 
this  day  there  would  not  be  an  armed  battalion  opposed  to  us 
within  the  broad  area  of  the  dominions  of  the  United  States. 
Robbers  and  assassins  must  in  any  event  result  from  the  disband- 
rnent  of  large  armies,  but  even  these  should  be  and  could  be  taken 
care  of  by  the  local  civil  authorities,  without  being  made  a  charge 
on  the  national  treasury. 


APPENDIX.  287 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th,  having  concluded  all  business  re 
quiring  my  personal  attention  at  Raleigh,  and  having  conferred 
with  every  army  commander  and  delegated  to  him  the  authority 
necessary  for  his  future  action,  1  dispatched  my  headquarters 
wagons  by  land  along  with  the  Seventeenth  Corps,  the  office  in 
charge  of  General  Webster,  from  Newbern  to  Alexandria,  Virginia, 
by  sea,  and  in  person,  accompanied  only  by  my  personal  staff, 
hastened  to  Savannah  to  direct  matters  in  the  interior  of  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  I  had  received  across  the  rebel  telegraph 
wires  cipher  dispatches  from  General  Wilson  at  Macon,  to  the  effect 
that  he  was  in  receipt  of  my  Orders.  No.  65,  and  would  send  Gen. 
eral  Upton's  division  to  Augusta,  and  General  McGook'fl  division 
to  Tallahassee  to  receive  the  surrender  of  those  garrisons,  take 
charge  of  the  public  property,  and  execute  the  paroles  required  by 
the  terms  of  surrender.  He  reported  a  sufficiency  of  forage  for  his 
horses  in  Southwest  Georgia,  but  asked  me  to  send  him  a  supply 
of  clothing,  sugar,  coffee,  £c.,  by  way  of  Augusta.  Georgia,  whence 
he  could  get  it  by  rail.  I  therefore  went  rapidly  to  Goldsboro' 
and  Wilmington,  reaching  the  latter  city  at  10  A.M.  of  the  29th, 
and  the  same  day  embarked  for  Hilton  Head  in  the  blockade-run 
ner  Russia.  Captain  A.  M.  Smith.  I  found  General  Q  A.  Gillmore, 
commanding  Department  of  the  South,  at  Hilton  Head  on  the 
evening  of  April  30th.  and  ordered  him  to  send  to  Augusta  at  once 
•what  clothing  and  small  stores  he  could  spare  for  General  Wilson, 
and  to  open  up  a  line  of  certain  communication  and  supply  with 
him  at  Macon  Within  an  hour  the  captured  steamboats  Jeff. 
Davis  and  Amazon,  both  adapted  to  the  shallow  and  crooked  navi 
gation  of  the  Savannah  river,  were  being  loaded,  the  one  at 
Savannah  and  the  other  at  Hilton  Head.  The  former  started  up 
the  river  on  the.  1st  of  May,  in  charge  of  a  very  intelligent  officer 
(whose  name  I  cannot  recall)  and  forty-eight  men,  all  the  boat 
could  carry,  with  orders  to  occupy  temporarily  the  United  States 
Arsenal  at  August. i,  and  open  up  communication  with  General 
Wilson  at  M,ic»n,  in  the  event  that  General  McCook's  division  of 
cavalry  was  no!  already  there.  The  Amazon  followed  next  day, 
and  General  Gillmore  had  made  the  necessary  orders  for  a  brigade 
of  infantry,  to  be  commanded  by  General  Molyneux,  to  follow  by 
a  laud  march  to  Augusta  as  its  permanent  garrison.  Another 
brigade  of  infantry  was  ordered  to  occupy  Orangeburg,  South 
Carolina,  the  point  furthest  in  the  interior  that  can  at  present  be 
reached  by  rail  from  the  seacoast  (Charleston). 

On  the  1st  of  May  1  went  on  to  Savannah,  where  General  Gill- 
more  aUo  joined  me,  and  the  arrangements  ordered  for  the  occupa 
tion  of  Augusta  were  consummated. 

At  Savannah,  I  found  the  city  in  the  most  admirable  police, 
under  direction  of  brevet  Major  General  Grover,  and  the  citizens 
manifested  the  most  unqualified  joy  to  hear  that,  so  far  as  they 
were  concerned,  the  war  was  over.  All  classes.  Union  men  as  well 
as  former  rebels,  did  not  conceal,  however,  the  apprehensions 
naturally  arising  from  a  total  ignorance  of  the  political  conditions 


APPENDIX. 

to  be  attached  to  their  future  state.  Any  thing  at  all  would  b« 
preferable  to  this  dread  uncertainty. 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  May  I  returned  to  Hilton  Head,  and 
there,  for  the  first  time,  received  the  New  York  papers  of  April 
28th,  containing  Secretary  Stan  ton's  dispatch  of  9  A.  M.  of  the  27th 
of  April  to  General  Dix,  including  General  Halleck's,  from  Rich 
mond,  of  9  p.  M.  of  the  night  before,  which  seems  to  have  been 
rushed  with  extreme  haste  before  an  excited  public,  namely,  morn 
ing  of  the  28th.  You  will  observe  from  the  dates  that  these  dis 
patches  were  running  back  and  forth  from  Richmond  and  Washing 
ton  to  New  York,  and  there  published,  while  General  Grant  and  I 
were  together  in  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  adjusting,  to  the  best 
of  our  ability,  the  terms  of  surrender  of  the  only  remaining  for 
midable  rebel  army  in  existence  at  the  time  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river  Not  one  word  of  intimation  had  been  sent  to  me  of  the  dis 
pleasure  of  the  Government  with  my  official  conduct,  but  only  the 
naked  disapproval  of  a  skeleton  memorandum  sent  properly  for  the 
aciiou  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  most  objectionable  features  of  my  memorandum  had  already 
(April  24th)  been  published  to  the  world  in  violation  of  official 
usage,  and  the  contents  of  my  accompanying  letters  to  General 
Hal  leek.  General  Grant,  and  Mr.  Stan  ton,  of  even  date,  though  at 
hand,  were  suppressed. 

In  all  these  letters  I  had  stated  clearly  and  distinctly  that  John 
ston's  army  would  not  fight,  but  if  pushed  would  "disband"  and 
''scatter"  into  small  and  dangerous  guerrilla  parties,  as  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  the  United  States  as  to  the  rebels  themselves  ; 
that  all  parties  admitted  that  the  rebel  cause  of  the  South  was 
abandoned  ;  that  the  negro  was  free,  and  that  the  temper  of  all 
was  most  favorable  to  a  lasting  peace.  I  say  all  these  opinions  of 
mine  were  withheld  from  the  public  with  a  seeming  purpose  ;  and 
I  do  contend  that  my  official  experience  and  former  services,  as  well 
as  my  past  life  and  familiarity  with  the  people  and  geography  of 
the  South,  entitled  my  opinions  to  at  least  a  decent  respect. 

Although  this  dispatch  (Mr.  Stanton's,  of  April  27th)  was  printed 
"  official,"  it  had  come  to  me  only  in  the  questionable  newspaper 
paragraph  headed  "Sherman's  truce  disregarded." 

I  had  already  done  what  General  Wilson  wanted  me  to  do, 
namely,  had  sent  him  supplies  of  clothing  and  food,  with  clear  and 
distinct  orders  and  instructions  how  to  carry  out  in  Western 
Georgia  the  terms  for  the  surrender  of  arms  and  paroling  of  prison 
ers  made  by  General  Johnston's  capitulation  of  April  26th,  and  had 
properly  and  most  opportunely  ordered  General  Gillmore  to  occupy 
Orangeburg  and  Augusta,  strategic  points  of  great  value  at  all 
times,  in  peace  or  war ;  but  as  the  Secretary  had  taken  upon  him 
self  to  order  my  subordinate  generals  to  disobey  my  "orders,"  1 
explained  to  General  Gillmore  that  I  would  no  longer  confuse  him 
or  General  Wilson  with  "  orders"  that  might  conflict  with  those  of 
the  Secretary,  which,  as  reported,  were  sent,  not  through  me,  but 
in  open  disregard  of  me  and  of  my  lawful  authority. 


APPENDIX,  289 

It  now  beGomeS  in^  duty  to  paint,  in  justly  -severe  character,  the 
still  more  offensive  and  dangerous  matter  of  Genera)  Hal  leek's 
dispatch  of  April  26th,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  embodied  in  his  to 
General  Dix,  of  April  27th. 

General  Halleck  had  been  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Army  at  Washing 
ton,  in  which  capacity  he  must  have  received  my  official  letter  of 
April  18th,  wherein  I  wrote  clearly  that  if  Johnston's  army  about 
Greensboro'  were  "pushed"  it  would  "disperse,"  an  event  I 
wished  to  prevent.  About  that  time  he  seems  to  have  been  sent 
from  Washington  to  Richmond  to  command  the  new  Military  Di 
vision  of  the  James,  in  assuming  charge  of  which,  on  the  22d,  he  de 
fines  the  limits  of  his  authority  to  be  the  "  Department  of  Virginia, 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  such  part  of  North  Carolina  as  may 
not  be  occupied  by  the  command  of  Major -General  Sherman."  (See  his 
•General  Orders,  No.  1.)  Four  days  later,  April  26th,  he  reports  to 
the  Secretary  that  he  has  ordered  Generals  Meade,  Sheridan,  and 
Wright  to  invade  that  part  of  North  Carolina  which  was  occupied 
by  my  command,  and  pay  "no  regard  to  any  truce  or  orders  of 
mine."  They  were  ordered  to  "push  forward,  regardless  of  any 
orders  save  those  of  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  and  cut  off  John 
ston's  retreat."  He  knew  at  the  time  he  penned  that  dis 
patch  and  made  those  orders,  that  Johnston  was  not  retreating,  but 
was  halted  under  a  forty-eight  hours'  truce  with  me,  and  was 
laboring  to  surrender  his  command  and  prevent  its  dispersion  into 
guerrilla  bands,  and  that  I  had  on  the  spot  a  magnificent  army  at 
my  command,  amply  sufficient  for  all  purposes  required  by  the 
occasion. 

The  plan  for  cutting  off  a  retreat  from  the  direction  of  Burkes- 
ville  and  Danville  is  hardly  worthy  one  of  his  military  education 
and  genius.  When  he  contemplated  an  act  so  questionable  as  the 
violation  of  a  "truce"  made  by  competent  authority  within  his 
sphere  of  command,  he  should  have  gone  himself  and  not  have  sent 
subordinates,  for  he  knew  I  was  bound  in  honor  to  defend  and  main 
tain  my  own  truce  and  pledge  of  faith,  even  at  the  cost  of  many 
lives. 

When  an  officer  pledges  the  faith  of  his  Government,  he  is  bound 
to  defend  it,  and  he  is  no  soldier  who  would  violate  it  knowingly. 

As  to  Davis  and  his  stolen  treasure,  did  General  Halleck,  as  Chief 
of  Staff,  or  commanding  officer  of  the  neighboring  military  division, 
notify  me  of  the  facts  contained  in  his  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  ? 
No,  he  did  not.  If  the  Secretary  of  War  wanted  Davis  caught,  why 
not  order  it,  instead  of,  by  publishing  in  the  newspapers,  putting 
him  on  his  guard  to  hide  away  and  escape  ?  No  orders  or  instruc 
tions  to  catch  Davis  or  his  stolen  treasure  ever  came  to  me  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  I  was  led  to  believe  that  the  Secretary  of  War 
rather  preferred  he  should  effect  an  escape  from  the  country,  if 
made  "unknown"  to  him.  But  even  on  this  point  I  inclose  a 
copy  of  my  letter  to  Admiral  Dahlgren,  at  Charleston,  sent  him  by 
a  fleet  steamer  from  Wilmington  on  the  25th  of  April,  two  days 
before  the  bankers  of  Richmond  had  imparted  to  General  Halleck 

25 


290 


APPENDIX. 


the  important  secret  as  to  Davis' s  movefttentV,  designed  donbtletsM 
to  stimulate  his  troops  to  march  their  legs  off  to  catch  their  treas 
ure  for  their  own  use. 

I  know  now  that  Admiral  Dahlgren  did  receive  my  letter  on  the 
26th,  and  had  acted'on  it  before  General  Halleck  had  even  thought  of 
the  matter  ;  but  I  don't  believe  a  word  of  the  treasure  story,  it  is< 
absurd  on  its  face,  and  General  Halleck  or  anybody  has  my  full 
permission  to  chase  Jeff.  Davis  and  cabinet,  with  their  stolen  treas 
ure,  through  any  part  of  the  country  occupied  by  my  command. 

The  last  and  most  obnoxious  feature  of  General  Halleck's  dis 
patch  is  wherein  he  goes  out  of  his  way  and  advises  that  my  sub 
ordinates,  Generals  Thomas,  Stoneman,  and  Wilson,  should  be  in 
structed  not  to  obey  "  Sherman's"  commands. 

This  is  too  much,  and  I  turn  from  the  subject  with  feelings  too- 
strong  for  words,  and  merely  record  my  belief  that  so  much  mis 
chief  was  never  before  embraced  in  so  small  a  space  as  in  the  news 
paper  paragraph  headed  "  Sherman's  truce  disregarded,"  authenti 
cated  as  "  official"  by  Mr.  Secretary  Stanton,  and  published  in  the 
New  York  papers  of  April  28th. 

During  the  night  of  May  2d,  at  Hilton  Head,  having  concluded" 
my  business  in  the  Department  of  the  South,  I  began  my  return  to 
meet  my  troops  then  marching  towards  Richmond  from  Raleigh. 
On  the  morning  of  the  3d  we  ran  into  Charleston  Harbor,  where  I 
had  the  pleasure  to  meet  Admiral  Dahlgren,  who  had,  in  all  my 
previous  operations  from  Savannah  northward,  aided  me  with  a 
courtesy  and  manliness  that  commanded  my  entire  respect  and 
deep  affection  ;  also  General  Hatch,  who,  from  our  first  interview 
at  his  Tullafmnay  camp  had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  move  from 
Pocotaligo  northward,  and  had  largely  contributed  to  our  joint 
success  in  taking  Charleston  and  the  Carolina  coast.  Any  one  who 
is  not  satisfied  with  war  should  go  and  see  Charleston,  and  he  will 
pray  louder  and  deeper  than  ever  that  the  country  may  in  the  long 
future  be  spared  any  more  war.  Charleston  and  secession  being 
synonymous  terms,  the  city  should  be  left  as  a  sample,  so  that 
centuries  may  pass  away  before  that  false  doctrine  is  again  preached 
in  our  Union. 

We  left  Charleston  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  May,  and  hastened 
with  all  possible  speed  back  to  Morehead  City,  which  we  reached 
at  night  of  the  4th.  I  immediately  communicated  by  telegraph 
with  General  Schofield  at  Raleigh,  and  learned  from  him  the  pleas 
ing  fact  that  the  lieutenant-general  commanding  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  had  reached  the  Chesapeake  in  time  to  countermand 
General  Halleck's  orders,  and  prevent  his  violating  my  truce,  in 
vading  the  area  of  my  command,  and  driving  Johnston's  surrender 
ing  army  into  fragments.  General  Johnston  had  fulfilled  his 
agreement  to  the  very  best  of  his  ability  ;  and  the  officers  charged 
with  issuing  the  paroles  at  Greensboro'  reported  about  thirty  thou 
sand  (30,000)  already  made,  and  that  the  greater  part  of  the  North 
Carolina  troops  had  gone  home  without  waiting  for  their  papers, 
but  that  all  of  "them  would  doubtless  come  in  to  some  one  of  the 


APPENDIX.  291 

military  posts,  the  commanders  of  which  are  authorized  to  grant 
them.  About  eight  hundred  (8QO)  of  the  rebel  cavalry  had  gone 
south,  refusing  to  abide  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  and  it  was 
supposed  they  would  make  for  Mexico.  I  would  sincerely  advise 
that  they  be  encouraged  to  go  and  stay  ;  they  would  be  a  nuisance 
to  any  civilized  government,  whether  loose  or  in  prison. 

With  the  exception  of  some  plundering  on  the  part  of  Lee's  and 
Johnston's  disbanded  men,  all  else  in  North  Carolina  was  "  quiet." 
When  to  the  number  of  men  surrendered  at  Greensboro'  are  added 
those  at  Tallahassee,  Augusta;  and  Macon,  with  the  scattered 
squads  who  will  come  in  at  other  military  posts,  I  have  no  doubt 
fifty  thousand  (50,000)  armed'  men  will  be  disarmed  and  restored 
to  civil  pursuits  by  the  capitulation  made  near  Durham's  Station, 
North  Carolina,  on  the  26th  of  April,  and  that,  too,  without  the 
loss  of  a  single  life  to  us. 

On  the  5th  of  May  I  received  and  here  subjoin  a  further  dispatch 
from  General  Schotield,  which  contains  inquiries  I  have  been  un 
able  to  satisfy,  similar  to  those  made  by  nearly  every  officer  in  my 
command  whose  duty  brings  him  in  contact  with  citizens.  I 
leave  you  to  do  what  you  think  expedient  to  provide  the  military 
remedy. 

By  Telegraph  from  Raleigh,  N.  <?.,  May  5,  1865,  to  Major-General  W.  T. 
t  Sherman,  Morehead  OUy- 

"  When  General  Grant  was  here,  as  you  doubtless  recollect,  he 
said  the  lines  had  been  extended  to  embrace  this  and  other  States 
south.  The  orderj  it  seems,  has  been  modified  so  as  to  include 
only  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  I  think  it  would  be  an  act  of  wis 
dom  to  open  this  State  to  trade  at  once.  I  hope  the  Government 
will  make  known  its  policy  as  the  organ  of  State  governments 
without  delay.  Affairs  must  be  necessarily  in  a  very  unsettled 
state  until  that  is  done  ;  the  people  are  now  in  a  mood  to  accept 
almost  any  thing  which  promises  a  definite  settlement.  » 

"  What  is  to  be  done  with  the  fVeedmen,  is  the  question  of  all, 
and  is  the  all-important  question.  It  requires  prompt  and  wise 
action  to  prevent  the  negro  from  becoming  a  huge  elephant  on 
our  hands.  If  I  am  to  govern  this  State,  it  is  important  for  me  to 
know  it  at  once.  If  another  is  to  be  sent  here  it  cannot  be  done 
too  soon,  for  he  will  probably  undo  the  most  that  I  shall  have 
done.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  freely  when  you  have  time 
to  write. 

"  I  will  send  your  message  to  Wilson  at  once. 

"J.  M.  SCHOFIELD, 

"  Major-General." 

I  give  this  dispatch  entire,  to  demonstrate  how  intermingled 
have  become  civil  matters  with  the  military,  and  how  almost  im 
possible  it  has  become  for  an  officer  in  authority  to  act  a  purely 
military  part. 

There  are  no  longer  armed  enemies  in  North  Carolina,  and  a 


292 


APPENDIX. 


soldier  can  deal  with  no  other  sort.  The  marshals  and  sheriffs 
with  their  posses  (of  which  the  military  may  become  a  part)  are  the 
only  proper  officers  to  deal  with  civil  criminals  and  marauders. 
tot  i  will  not  be  drawn  out  in  a  discussion  of  this  subject,  but  in 
stance  the  case  to  show  how  difficult  is  the  task  become  to  military 
officers,  when  men  of  the  rank,  education,  experience,  nerve  and 
good  sense  of  General  Schofield  feel  embarrassed  by  them 

General  Schofield,  at  Raleigh,  has  a  well-appointed  and  well- 
disciplined  command,  is  in  telegraphic  communication  with  the 
controlling  parts  of  his  department,  and  remote  ones  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Georgia,  as  well  as  with  Washington,  and  has  military 
possession  of  all  strategic  points. 

In  like  manner  General  Gillmore  is  well  situated  in  all  respects 
except  as  to  rapid  communication  with  the  seat  of  the  General 
Government.  I  leave  him  also  with  every  man  he  ever  asked  for. 
and  m  full  and  quiet  possession  of  every  strategic  point  in  his  de 
partment  ;  and  General  Wilson  has  in  the  very  heart  of  Georgia 
the  strongest,  best-appointed,  and  best-equipped  cavalry  corps  that 
ever  fell  under  my  command,  and  he  has  now,  by  my  recent  ac 
tion,  opened  to  him  a  source  of  route  and  supply  by  way  of  Savan 
nah  River  that  simplifies  his  military  problem,  so  that  I  think  I 
may  with  a  clear  conscience  leave  them,  and  turn  my  attention 
once  more  to  my  special  command,  the  army  with  which  I  have 
been  associated  through  some  of  the  most  eventful  scenes  of  this 
or  any  war. 

I  hope  and  believe  none  of  these  commanders  will  ever  have 
reason  to  reproach  me  for  any  "orders"  they  may  have  received 
from  me,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  may  be  assured 
that  all  of  them  are  in  position,  ready  and  willing  to  execute  to 
the  letter  and  in  spirit  any  orders  he  may  give.  I  shall  hence 
forth  cease  to  give  them  any  orders  at  all,  for  the  occasion  that 
made  them  subordinate  to  me  is  past,  and  I  shall  confine  my  at 
tention  to  the  army  composed  of  the  Fifteenth  and  Seventeenth, 
the  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  corps,  unless  the  commanding 
general  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States  orders  otherwise. 

At  four  p.  M.  of  May  9th,  I  reached  Manchester  on  the  James 
Kiver,  opposite  Richmond,  and  found  that  all  the  four  corps  had 
arrived   from   Raleigh,  and  were  engaged   in   replenishing   their 
wagons  for  the  resumption  of  the  march  towards  Alexandria. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

Major-General  commanding. 
GENEBAL  JOHN  A.  RAWLINGS,  Chief  of  Staff,  Washington,  D.  C. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last 

on  the  date  to  whictM-idftewecl.1 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


APR  1  4  1966  8  7 


frjpRl8l9TO 


M& 


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LOAN  DEPT. 


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